Hot on the heels of a petition protesting against potential cuts to Citizens Advice Cornwall's (CAC) funding from Cornwall Council, the council has launched a survey asking for views on how it helps fund the service now and in the future.

The survey is being carried out to gauge how and when residents use CAC and the impact their service has had on them.

Cornwall Council is challenged with finding another £75 million in savings by April 2021. This is in addition to the £300 million in savings that it has already achieved since 2009.

It was originally proposed that the council’s grant to CAC be stopped altogether to help achieve some of these savings however, the current budget proposes that the level of funding from Cornwall Council to CAC is set at £153,000 for the next three years - a reduction of 53 per cent.

Cornwall Council leader Adam Paynter said: “We are proposing to reinstate a grant to CAC as we recognise that austerity and things like the roll out of Universal Credit have a big impact on our communities.

"To help us make decisions about funding, we are asking residents to let us know how and when they have used the services of CAC in the past two years. We want to know how useful residents have found the advice, information and general advocacy service that CAC provides to communities in Cornwall."

He adds: “The council is facing the unenviable challenge of having to decide which services to deliver and how to deliver them with less budget. The only way to do this effectively is to do things differently and make changes in how we work and how we contribute to other organisations and get the best value for money. We are continuing to talk to CAC about the way forward. A final decision on the council’s budget will be made by members in February 2018.”

The council's service can be found at cornwall.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/have-your-say/citizens-advice-cornwall-consultation.

The CAC's petition against the cuts can be found at http://chn.ge/2B4sXVJ or in any Citizens Advice office.