Three councils give cash to help Banburyshire Advice Centre in lockdown work

Founder and manager Andy Willis BCAv said the grants were most welcome and would enable the advice centre to provide vital services to the people of Banbury and surrounding areas.

The councils helping with funding are Banbury Town Council, Cherwell District Council and Oxfordshire County Council.

"The charity is currently helping people by phone or email and will offer face-to-face appointments once it is safe to do so," he said.

"Oxfordshire County Council has provided substantial funding to help with our running costs. Banbury Town Council has provided funds for us to produce lockdown guides to help people through this difficult period. And Cherwell District Council has allocated funding to promote the charity. All three councils recognise how challenging the lockdown has been and have been working proactively to help local residents."

"They have recognised the significant work our highly-trained volunteers do to help people in need and we are very grateful for the financial assistance. We hope the councils will continue to support us as demands on our services are likely to grow. The charity is here to help people and talking things through with a trained adviser can be particularly helpful in seeing a way through a variety of situations.”

He also thanked Labour county councillor, Cllr Hannah Banfield, for authorising money from her allocation of the Oxfordshire County Council councillors' grant scheme.

Mr Willis said local residents can support the centre by playing the Cherwell Lottery.

Mr Willis has been working in this field for over a decade and has been awarded a British Citizen Award and a Honorary Masters Degree from the Open University. The charity was set up in 2016 and operates out of two permanent advice centres in Banbury as well as Hanwell Fields Community Centre during normal times. All venues are currently closed due to the crisis.