To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to support the Citizens Advice Bureaux in retaining their capability and capacity to offer appropriate advice to their users.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) provides core funding to Citizens Advice, the umbrella body for the Citizens Advice Bureaux service in England and Wales. That core funding allows for the provision of essential central services to the bureaux network including IT, information, training and the recruitment of volunteers and the auditing of bureaux to ensure they retain their capability and capacity to deliver.

BIS has also provided Citizens Advice with additional funding totalling £15.55m over the past two years to enable the service to invest in its digital offering to enable clients who are able to seek advice through alternative channels, such as telephone, email and self-help via the Adviceguide website, easing pressure on bureaux to deliver face to face advice to those who most need it. BIS has also maintained its core funding to Citizens Advice over the Spending Review period.