Support WDCAB

Trustees, staff and volunteers of West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau have expressed their dismay and disappointment at the news that council officers have recommended that West Dunbartonshire Council should cease all funding to the CAB service.

Joe McCormack, CEO of WDCAB: “We understand West Dunbartonshire Council’s financial position and recognise that they have some really tough decisions to make but this proposal from officers makes no sense.

This is the worst Cost of Living crisis we have ever experienced, doubly damaging because it comes so soon after lockdown and all that the pandemic did to damage the resilience of vulnerable people within our communities. Food inflation and energy costs remain high (with no UK Government support this year), mortgage interest rates are higher than they have been in decades and benefit claimants are being forced onto Universal Credit. West Dunbartonshire people need access to a high local independent advice – WDCAB provides that.

Last year we helped over 5000 people. Because people’s lives can be so complicated that help entailed just under 12,000 separate contacts and during those conversations we advised on 36,405 issues.

Before making their decisions we would ask Councillors to consider where would the 5,138 people we helped last year go for assistance if the CAB service is no longer available?

West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau is not a statutory service – but it is an essential service for many local people.”

About Our CAB 

West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau is an independent charity, reliant on external funding in order to continue providing local residents with free information, advice assistance relating to a wide range of subjects.

We do this through our team of skilled and trained Advisers, who are a mix of volunteers, giving up their own time freely to help others, and paid specialist support staff who ensure complex issues are addressed and there is continuity of service.

We provide a live advice service between 8:30am and 4:30pm Monday to Thursday most weeks through our freephone line (0800 484 0136) and our website. Where we're unable to assist through these channels, we also provide in-person appointments from both our Dumbarton office and a range of outreach locations in Clydebank and Alexandria.

In 2023

The work of WDCAB can help ensure local residents receive their due benefit entitlements, obtain grants toward things such as energy bills and housing costs, underpaid and rightful wages, and refunds: