Reprieve for Citizens' Advice Bureau debt workers

Redundancy notices had been issued to staff at the town's Citizen's Advice Bureau, in Wellgate, as a result of a Government decision to axe the Financial Inclusion Fund (FIF) which paid for face-to-face debt advice and the majority of the Rotherham branch’s community debt work.

Reaction: See this week's Advertiser.

The Financial Inclusion Fund allows Rotherham CAB to employ four full-time debt caseworkers and two thousand people signed a petition in support of the Rotherham CAB in protest at the plans.

But the Government has now anounced that £27m has been provided to keep services across the country going for the next financial year.

The news was welcomed by Annette Cassam, chief executive of the Rotherham CAB, although the bureau is still fighting to keep its funding for general staff and some redundancies are still expected.