BOLTON’S Citizens Advice Bureau is set to reach out to people in need — by introducing multipoint video conferencing sessions.
The move means Bolton residents will be able to speak face-to-face with an adviser without having to travel into the town centre.
The service will be introduced in local libraries and community centres in the coming months.
Bolton’s CAB is already providing sessions in local Ucan centres.
New chief officer Richard Wilkinson said: “We want to make access to our services better for more people.”
They have already established a mini “call centre” where four or five staff handle clients’ calls, offering advice.
The service has been able to deal with around 600 calls a month this way in the past year — previously it was 50 to 100.
The cloud-based video conferencing — which will use software such as Skype — is due to start in “the next few months”.
Mr Wilkinson added: “We want this to be convenient for people so they don’t have to come into the town centre specially.
“We still have the face-to-face sessions available, though. We will always need to have those.”
Bolton’s CAB has had to cope with cuts to staff from 55 to 30 and a change in Legal Aid Agency rules which meant the loss of £600,000 in the money it receives annually.
Mr Wilkinson started with the CAB after volunteering in Birmingham where he was studying for a Masters degree in housing policy and was later offered a job there.
The Mawdsley Street centre is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 9.30am to 3.30pm and there is a phone service available to anyone with a GP in Bolton by ringing 0808 801 0011.
For detailed information, please visit Citizens Advice Bureau to give internet video conference consultations via Skype
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