Surrey County Council Liberal Democrats have called for more support for voluntary organisations in the county

Speaking at County Hall, Cllr Fiona White, the Liberal Democrat Adult Social Care spokesperson, said; "The issue is to make sure that the right sort of advice and support is available to Surrey residents as many of them cope with the changes in welfare benefits arising from the Coalition's need to reduce the financial deficit this country faces.

"There will be losses of Employment & Support Allowance for young people, reductions in housing benefit with private tenants facing average losses of £64 per week, potential increases in homelessness, losses of some mobility and care components of Disability Living Allowance. The latter could be equivalent to a loss of £13.9M per year in Surrey.

"One of the ways in which Surrey has sought to mitigate the costs of adult social care in the past is to maximise benefit take-up in Surrey by those who are entitled to it.

"It is widely reported that there are millions of pounds across the country that are under-claimed by older people every year and many of those people will be Surrey residents. There are also difficulties for people with Mental Health issues who are able to look after themselves but cannot get and keep a job."

Debt advice from Citizens Advice Bureaux nearly always results in debt 'rescheduling' which means that priority debts - rent arrears, council tax, TV licence and utilities - get paid first. Therefore investment in CAB by local authorities tends to have a direct benefit in terms of reducing their arrears. Benefits advice demonstrates how investment in advice helps to ensure that people are claiming all the help they can get, therefore increasing the likelihood of them being able to pay rent, council tax etc. There is a wider impact in terms of money being reinvested in the Surrey economy too and reduced likelihood of people suffering health problems and relationship breakdown when they are in debt or struggling to manage their bills, all of which have further cost implications for the local economy such as increased reliance on health services and unemployment.

Lib Dem success

Whilst the Conservative administration refused to accept the Liberal Democrat call for £100,000 to be immediately put back into the budget for voluntary organisations, they did agree to make the issue a priority for the next county council budget.

Speaking after the meeting, Fiona White said: "I am disappointed that the Conservatives did not recognise the need for immediate action. Every penny spent on supporting voluntary organisations saves far more money in terms of the support that Surrey County Council's social care services have to provide. However, I am delighted that the Conservatives accepted that there is a need for the issue to be tackled, and look forward to them taking on board the Liberal Democrat calls for more support for voluntary organisations in the next county council budget."