NEARLY a quarter of a million pounds could be lost to the Tavistock economy after county council social service cuts axed an outreach worker helping people to access unclaimed benefits they are entitled to.

Alex Wood, manager of Tavistock Citizens Advice Bureau, says the outreach worker's contract will not be renewed after March 31 — even though the post is currently estimated to bring more than £220,000 a year to Tavistock.

He said that unless an alternative source of funding to keep the outreach worker in the post could be found, the community would lose out for the sake of the annual cost of running the post — around £16,000.

'Everyone can see the argument, but no-one has yet come up with how we can find the money,' he said.

'If we could just extend the service for one year, it would give us some breathing space.

'Let's be hard-headed about this, the post can justify itself many times over. The post provides economic service as well as social benefit,' said Mr Wood.

The outreach project worker is employed for 18 1/2 hours a week and has been serving outlying rural areas around Tavistock for the last three years, helping some of the most disadvantaged people in society claim a variety of benefits.

And Mr Wood said these cases would not be taken on by other agencies in West Devon.

The post is highly skilled with around a quarter of applications being refused and then followed up by tribunal appeal by the case worker. This work requires specific legal training and could not be carried out by a volunteer.

Mr Wood said the vast majority of benefit entitlement which was collected was spent in Tavistock and went back into the local economy.

He said that in total, there was around £1-million a year in unclaimed benefits in the Tavistock area alone, and the outreach worker was able to secure almost a quarter of that money for local people.

He said Tavistock clients of the CAB would not suffer as a result of the cuts, as the voluntary advice service provided would remain the same, but said the clock was ticking to save a post which recouped its annual expense in economic benefit to Tavistock in just over a month.

Mr Wood said back in November he had hoped the outreach position had been secured until March 2003, and there would be a chan

ce to develop the post. However, council social services cuts announced in December mean the outreach worker cannot be kept on after the end of next month, unless alternative funding can be found.

A spokesman for Devon County Council said although the contract was coming to an end because of budget pressures within Social Services, the whole issue of CAB funding in general and welfare rights was being looked at by Devon County Council in association with the primary health care trusts.

'The council is looking to make a significant extra investment in helping people to access the benefits they are entitled to and there are also hopes to increase core funding for the CAB,' he said.

West Devon and Torridge MP John Burnett said that organisations such as CAB faced growing problems with funds.

'There is an ever increasing call on the CAB. People cannot afford legal fees and there is an increasing demand for help with difficulties with property and benefit.

'The benefit system is complex enough, the outreach work is invaluable for people, especially for elderly people,' he said.

Mr Burnett described the social service cuts affecting the Tavistock outreach worker as 'false economy'.