Bureau's Future In Doubt
Thursday, 8th September 2005.
Uncertainty surrounds the future of Haverhill's Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) after plans to merge it with the Bury St Edmunds Bureau were revelaed.
Guests attending the bureau's annual general meeting yesterday were told that it was likely to be merged with the Bury St Edmunds bureau and it had already had to make staffing cuts.
Manager Brigitte Haig said the bureau, which moved into a new Centre for Voluntary Services office last July, said its position was very "insecure". No details had yet been given of how it would be affected by the merger, which was being proposed to save money by pooling resources. The merger could happen before next April.
Mrs Haig said: "It is almost certain that we will merge with Bury and what presence will be left in Haverhill we cannot be certain. We are the only agency that gives this kind of support to families in Haverhill, there is no-one else.
We just don't know how it is going to work. Our deputy manager has left and I have been doing her work as well.
We have lots of ideas of what we could do in the way of outreach work to people who have mental health problems, people in villages and people with disabilities, but that all remains subject to money."
In her annual report, Mrs Haig said although news of the merger did create uncertainty, she hoped that by pooling resources the service to clients would be improved.
Ron Hartley, chairman of the CAB management committee, said they had agreed to consider a merger in the hope of gaining a three-year service agreement, but after the Bury bureau manager had left, it had brought the idea forward with only a one-year sevice agreement on offer.
He would be pushing for the change to be put back until at least March 2007.
Town Mayor Tim Marks who was at the AGM said: "A merger with Bury would seem to be a retrograde step and one can only hope that the people of Haverhill will not lose out on this important service."
Councillor Phillip French, a member of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said he was concerned that the merger could mean Haverhill became an outreach to the Bury bureau.
Guests attending the bureau's annual general meeting yesterday were told that it was likely to be merged with the Bury St Edmunds bureau and it had already had to make staffing cuts.
Manager Brigitte Haig said the bureau, which moved into a new Centre for Voluntary Services office last July, said its position was very "insecure". No details had yet been given of how it would be affected by the merger, which was being proposed to save money by pooling resources. The merger could happen before next April.
Mrs Haig said: "It is almost certain that we will merge with Bury and what presence will be left in Haverhill we cannot be certain. We are the only agency that gives this kind of support to families in Haverhill, there is no-one else.
We just don't know how it is going to work. Our deputy manager has left and I have been doing her work as well.
We have lots of ideas of what we could do in the way of outreach work to people who have mental health problems, people in villages and people with disabilities, but that all remains subject to money."
In her annual report, Mrs Haig said although news of the merger did create uncertainty, she hoped that by pooling resources the service to clients would be improved.
Ron Hartley, chairman of the CAB management committee, said they had agreed to consider a merger in the hope of gaining a three-year service agreement, but after the Bury bureau manager had left, it had brought the idea forward with only a one-year sevice agreement on offer.
He would be pushing for the change to be put back until at least March 2007.
Town Mayor Tim Marks who was at the AGM said: "A merger with Bury would seem to be a retrograde step and one can only hope that the people of Haverhill will not lose out on this important service."
Councillor Phillip French, a member of St Edmundsbury Borough Council, said he was concerned that the merger could mean Haverhill became an outreach to the Bury bureau.
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