PROBLEMS and concerns about benefits and tax credits were the biggest issues facing people from Wellington over the past year who went in search of help and advice from the Citizens Advice organisation.

Advisers from Citizens Advice saw 536 clients in Wellington during the 2023-24 financial year and listened to a total of 2,478 issues.

Nearly half of those clients raised 677 issues about benefits and tax credits, while debt was also a big area of worry for people with 424 requests for help.

Other key areas of concern were Universal Credit, housing, employment and relationships/family issues.

Angela Kerr, of Citizens Advice, relayed the statistics to those present at Wellington Town Council’s annual parish meeting held on May 29.

She said that the top debt issue was people struggling with Council Tax arrears and confirmed that that could become a bigger problem in the coming years with tax bills increasing.

Figures released during the meeting revealed that Citizens Advice had taken on 595 cases from Wellington and these had resulted in gaining an income of £268,706 for clients and debts written off to the tune of £50,797.

The town council was thanked for its support of Citizens Advice having gone into a funding partnership with the charity – known as a Service Level Agreement – in which it had provided the organisation with £5,000 a year for three years, ending in March 2024.

The three-year funding agreement between Citizens Advice and the town council was agreed back in