NEARLY 100 people attended the Stroud & District AGM on September 19 at Ebley Mill.

The keynote speaker Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of the National Citizens Advice Bureau spoke about the impact of the CAB advice service in our communities.

Ms Guy said that "Citizens Advice research shows that two in three clients who visit a CAB have their problem completely or partially solved. 78 per cent also say they couldn’t have done it without the CAB."

Ms Guy asked members of the public to support the ‘Advice For the Future Pledge’.

The Right Honourable Neil Carmichael MP who attended the meeting said he supported the pledge.

"I support the advice for the future campaign because free advice makes society better. It’s really important that people like Citizens Advice are able to continue to offer free advice, through a range of channels, so it’s available to everyone who needs it."

In 2013/2014 the Stroud & District CAB helped over 4,000 households in the Stroud District with nearly 11,000 problems.

The CAB introduced a new Freephone telephone service and an email service to make sure the service is accessible to everyone in our community.

Nick Lee spoke about how the advice network has been strengthened with the introduction of a Professionals Consultant Line to ensure professionals have easy access to advice to help their clients solve problems.

One of the many successful outcomes of the project was that referrals had led to many cases where homelessness had been prevented.

Sally Pickering the new Chief Office of the CAB said "The CAB has a skilled and committed team and is very grateful for the support it receives from key funders, Stroud DC, Cotswold DC, Gloucestershire CC and for the fundraising work done by volunteers. I'm really looking forward to working with everyone here to make further improvements to the accessibility and quality of this service for the benefit of everyone in the Stroud District."