THERE will be no cuts to vital Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) services in Andover and Romsey - despite a 10 per cent reduction in borough council grant from April.

Staff at the bureaux were asked to consider how to make savings without reducing opening hours as an alternative to a proposed 30 per cent cut in funding.

Test Valley's full council has now agreed to a cut of £23,000 in grant each year for the next three years, £17,000 of which will come directly from the CAB and take into account the proposed savings.

Conservative council leader Cllr Ian Carr explained he and finance and grants officers had met with bureaux staff to agree reasonable savings which could be made at the office without services to the public suffering.

But some councillors felt funding should remain at the same level for at least another year, while staff looked into possible ways of saving money.

Liberal Democrat Cllr Mark Cooper said the service already operated on a shoestring and would struggle to cope with less funding.

He added: "This would mean an inferior CAB and that would be a tremendous shame. This puts pressures on them and that is very unfair.

"To threaten voluntary organisations with major cuts is very wrong indeed."

Cllr Stephen Cosier added: "Taking £17,000 from the CAB is like taking the anchor from the Queen Mary 2. I think this will mean the CAB will flounder."

Cllr Rod Bailey also criticised the move when the population was growing, along with serious debt.

But a majority vote saw the move go through.

Mr Carr said: "We had a very positive meeting with the bureaux and have agreed on a way forward. They are able to reduce expenditure without it affecting services."

There was concern that a larger cut in budget would have left borough council services with a heavy burden - at an estimated additional wage cost of £250,000 to look after 5,000 more people per year currently using the CAB.

Members all voiced their support for the work of the Citizens Advice Bureau.