Minister for Finance congratulates work of CAB

Minister for Finance, Sammy Wilson MLA, attended the Annual General Meeting of Newtownabbey CAB on Friday 24th September 2010.

Speaking at the event, Minister Wilson congratulated the staff and volunteers of Newtownabbey CAB for the work carried out: ‘The passion which Pat and her staff have for the work that they do is matched with professionalism.’

The Minister admitted to being struck by just how much society depends on advisers in bureaux and acknowledged that the work being done across Northern Ireland is going to be more important in the future. The Minister also spoke of the looming spending cuts and said ‘We are going to be facing financial constraint and this will be felt across society. The work of CAB will take on more importance as people find themselves in difficulties. At a time when demands are far greater, there is also a tightening of budgets in the public sector’

Pat Hutchinson, Manager of Newtownabbey CAB, highlighted the many issues dealt with by advisers and said ‘The personal stories spur advisers on to be the bureau we are.’ The bureau received an unprecedented increase in queries including a 36% increase in benefit maximisation, a 17% increase in debt and a 10% increase in tribunal representation. As a result of the increased demand for the service, Pat was pleased to announce that the bureau had introduced a new gateway system ensuring that all new clients were now being seen on a triage basis and this had decreased waiting times and increased the amount of clients by 23% in the last year.

Left to Right: Danny Kinahan MLA, Nigel Dodds MP, Minister for Finance Sammy Wilson MLA, Pat Hutchinson, MBE, Manager of Newtownabbey CAB and Councillor Billy Webb, Chairman of Newtownabbey CAB.

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