• THE report (Citizens Advice office is closed in cash squeeze, August 22) starkly highlighted the sad fact that central government austerity continues to impact our vulnerable residents.

Because of this, I believe high-quality, independent, services are essential to help all our residents, especially those that are vulnerable or currently less able to engage within their wider community.

To address this, we recently made the decision to make an investment of £7million over the next seven years to create a Camden Advice Partnership, a network of general and specialist services which will be delivered by voluntary and community organisations.

This funding will mean the borough’s voluntary advice services will be able to increase and develop their outreach services, meeting residents in need in their communities rather than them having to travel to drop-in clinics and other venues.

This new approach will also make more efficient use of other resources such as online, digital, and phone, which are increasingly seen by many as a useful method of obtaining more general advice and support.

The partnership will be funded through a competitive grant, and we will shortly be inviting organisations to submit bids for this.

The grant scheme will provide a transparent way of supporting this new partnership to provide an effective advice service while also encouraging greater flexibility and innovation from organisations to best meet resident’s needs.

We will continue to play a leading role in helping our residents navigate these challenges, but recognise we are not always best placed to do so.

Independent advice services, embedded in our communities, can often give the specialist advice, time and personal attention needed to support residents and help build resilient communities.

This investment will build a stronger relationship between the council and voluntary services, and is a practical demonstration of our commitment to the whole community.

CLLR JONATHAN SIMPSON
Cabinet Member for Promoting Culture & Community Services