Agenda item

Petitions and Deputations (15 Minutes)

A period not exceeding three minutes is allowed for the presentation of a petition or deputation provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

 

·            Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·            Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

Minutes:

66.1    Mrs Kay Mills presented a petition of behalf of Gloucester Law Centre and Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) appealing against the intended cuts to advice centres operating in the City. She reported that these agencies assisted residents with a wide variety of issues relating to housing, health, and employment amongst others and aimed to deliver early intervention to prevent issues such as homelessness from occurring and thereby directly reducing Council expenditure.

 

She went on further to explain that the advice centres were run by paid staff, who were at risk of losing their jobs and volunteers who worked long hours and who were committed to helping individuals and families in desperate circumstances.  She noted that following closure of the Welfare Rights Service in March 2016 and the significant changes to Legal Aid introduced in 2013, both the Gloucester Law Centre and Citizens Advice Bureau were experiencing higher than ever demand and worked hard to improve the lives of City’s residents. She concluded by reporting that the petition had attracted widespread support and garnered a higher response rate than that of the Council’s budget consultation within a short space of time. She acknowledged that the City Council were facing significant financial challenges but expressed hope that the proposed funding cuts to the advice centres were reconsidered.

 

66.2    The Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods (Councillor Jennie Watkins) thanked Mrs Mills and other representatives from the advice centres for attending the meeting. She proposed to respond to the petition during the debate on the 2017/18 Budget Proposals.