Dear Editor,

With the announcement, last week, of the total removal of a local CAB service in Ross, we witnessed the end of the only fully independent advice service that can be accessed in the HR9 area.

The revised service now on offer is based totally in Hereford and will only operate on three mornings per week, this is completely unsatisfactory for the majority of users in our area.

The limited CAB service on offer is not in any way guaranteed for the future, as it is totally dependent on the one off grant of £50K, awarded by the outgoing County Council. It is highly likely that all funding from the County Council will be withdrawn in the next financial year, which would result in even greater cuts in the service.

If we wish as a community to have a locally based CAB service which is part of a County wide structure, we need to comprehensively rethink the funding of the service and the way it is managed and operates.

I believe that all Parish and Town Councils should contribute to the running costs of the revised CAB. Up to now the greatest portion of the operating budget of the service has been consumed in the payment of salaries and on-costs for paid staff, this would have to change under any new arrangement.

A fundamental rethink is required about how to provide the CAB service within the budget available so as to create a universal advice service that is sustainable for the long term future.

Patrick Hughes, Ross