BLACKBURN with Darwen Citizen Advice Bureau is set to close after losing a key council contract.

The CAB failed to secure the contract with Blackburn with Darwen Council, believed to have been worth £100,000, and bosses were yesterday telling its 13 staff that it will close at the end of the month.

The new contract is believed to have gone to Shelter, but no official announcement on a replacement will be made until next week.

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The CAB, which is based at Blackburn Library and helps between 3,500 and 4,000 people a year, was not taking on any new cases today.

And bosses were meeting last night to discuss how to deal with the cases they already have.

Yesterday Blackburn with Darwen CAB chairman Steve Hughes said: “I am heading in to Blackburn to tell staff that we will be shutting the organisation at the end of the month. It will be the end of the CAB.

“That will have a huge impacts on clients within the Blackburn with Darwen area. There are quite a few deprived areas in Blackburn and we have done some great work with them and developed some fantastic relationships.

This will have an immediate impact because we will not be taking on any new cases from now. Any case work that we have got currently will be dealt with until the end of the month. That will then be handed over to the new provider.

“It is because the council has decided to tender the contract to another organisation. This is the stark reality of what happens when council’s decide they want to effectively tender a service they didn’t need to.

Blackburn with Darwen CAB has got a fantastic track record of delivering advice and now all that will come to an end.

“We have had fantastic support from the council in the past and we did not expect this.

"Last year we saw 4,960 clients and dealt with 7,383 problems. We helped write off £1,275,451 of debt and gained an extra £4,865,333 in benefits for the residents of Blackburn with Darwen.  As you can see, we have done some fantastic work and it would be a shame to lose this service at a time of great need."

Liz Potts, Chief Executive said: “It's a very disappointing outcome, both for the service but more importantly for the community that we serve. Our brand nationally is one of the most recognised in the country and Blackburn with Darwen will be impoverished by the loss of such a trusted service.

“Seven members of staff will lose their jobs and the loss to the community in terms of volunteering opportunities will be enormous.

“I would like to thank all staff, volunteers and partners for their support and dedication over the last 37 years.”

It is understood CAB, Shelter and a third organisation went in for the contract. A decision was made by committee but that is now subject to a one-week ‘cooling’ period, before it is officially rubber stamped.

A spokesman for Blackburn with Darwen council spokesman said: “As things stand, this has not officially been awarded yet. What we can say is: A Council spokesman said: “A new contract is being awarded subject to council procedures.”