Northern Ireland

Citizens Advice demise blamed on withdrawal of government funds

The Citizens advice office on Donegal Pass that has closed recently Picture Mal McCann.
The Citizens advice office on Donegal Pass that has closed recently Picture Mal McCann. The Citizens advice office on Donegal Pass that has closed recently Picture Mal McCann.

THE BOARD of Citizens Advice's regional headquarters has blamed the the charity's withdrawal from Northern Ireland on the Department for Communities' (DfC) decision to end its funding.

The Irish News revealed last week that financial difficulties at Citizens Advice NI meant the organisation's 28 offices across the north are to become affiliated to Advice NI, or face closure.

Based at Belfast's Donegall Pass, Citizens Advice NI provided IT, training and administrative support for 13 independently run bureaux.

It was declared insolvent earlier this year and more than a dozen staff were laid off in a process which signals the end of the free advice provider's 70-year association with Northern Ireland.

But in its first public statement since entering a company voluntary arrangement in June, Citizens Advice NI's board has claimed it was forced to close due to a steady reduction in DfC's financial backing, followed by the complete withdrawal of funds.

"The board believes that Citizens Advice NI would still be working and viable if the department had continued its financial support," the statement said.

"The loss of its grant precipitated a loss of confidence by other funders."

Citizens Advice NI said DfC funding had decreased over recent years from £700,000 in £330,000 in 2017. The charity received the majority of its funding from a different government department but said this was withdrawn after the main funder was "informed that we did not enjoy the financial confidence of DfC".

The board concede that the regional headquarters office had been in financial difficulties since 2014 due to staff pension liabilites but insists that in January this year it had a "substantial six-figure balance sheet and healthy reserves".

"On the basis of its funding profile at that time, the charity had the resources to meet its ongoing pension costs," the statement said.

"Once government funders withdrew their support, we could no longer meet those costs."

The Citizens Advice NI board said it sought to access government records outlining why it was regarded as financially unviable but most requests were refused on the grounds of "commercial sensitivity".

The statement said the department refused to meet board members and that that Citizens Advice NI was "denied the opportunity to appeal its decision and to put the case for our

sustainability backed up by the positive funder audit".

A spokesman for DfC said the department offered to meet with Citizens Advice NI when the charity was informed that funding would end.

"The department subsequently received correspondence from Citizens Advice NI’s legal representatives and continued to engage through correspondence," the spokesman said.

The DfC spokesman said funding to Citizens Advice NI ended "because the organisation’s financial position was such that it was not considered viable to continue to receive public funding".

"This followed the withdrawal of other public funding from the organisation's main funders," the spokesman said.