Whilst Sevenoaks District Council has guaranteed for the next three years to provide an annual grant of £81,540 (the largest Council grant to any voluntary organisation) to Sevenoaks and Swanley and Edenbridge & Westerham Citizens Advice, I shared the concerns of many of you about a £35,000 reduction in the grant.
I raised such concerns with council leader Julia Thornton and was assured the council was working on ways to provide further support and assistance.
I am therefore very pleased to share that Julia, Cabinet member Lesley Dyball and council officers, have successfully obtained £40,000 of new, external grant funding on behalf of the local Citizens Advice for the coming year. This will come from Kent County Council and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
This is fantastic news and means overall Citizen’s Advice will see an increase in funding, meaning no change to the vital work they do for our community. My huge thanks to Julia, Lesley and officers for all the hard work they have put in to win these awards so quickly.
