Advice will be dished out from the Citizens Advice Bureau offices at the Ryefield Centre and at the Corn Exchange in Ross-on-Wye on an appointment only basis from this month to cut down on long waits.
The centres have been working on a drop-in policy but will switch to appointments only as part of a county-wide change in the way the CAB offices are managed.
Manager Claire Keetch said: “We are planning a new method of service delivery which will improve services to clients.
“Our current system produces long waits for many clients and is inflexible in not being able to accommodate those who pop in during a lunch hour or who cannot wait because they have children or caring responsibilities.”
Mrs Keetch said the change in policy in Ross followed on from successful systems used in other parts of the county and nationwide. “We have run a highly successful appointments-based outreach at Newton Farm Information Centre for many years and we want to build on this because it works really well,” she said.
“Bureaux across the country who have adopted this approach have reported an increase in client numbers. Increasing access to clients is what this is all about.”
She said there would be “increased access” to advice available over the telephone and that people dropping in would be assessed and offered an appointment convenient for them.
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