LABOUR council leaders in Didcot have boosted grant funding for the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) after financial support for the service was cut by the Conservatives.

The Tory group in charge of the town council cut the CAB’s grant and earlier this year evicted the charity from the Civic Hall in Britwell Road.

The move to new premises in Dales furniture shop, in High Street, placed the CAB under financial pressure and it was forced to cut a number of advice sessions.

But on May 6, the Labour group took control of the town council and decided to help out by increasing the bureau’s annual grant.

Following a meeting of the finance and general purposes committee on Monday, councillors agreed to increase the grant for 2011/2012 from £3,500 to £10,100.

However, town council leader Margaret Davies said there were no plans to invite the CAB to move back into the Civic Hall, due to reopen in August following refurbishment.

She added: “I think the treatment of the CAB in Didcot has been shameful and the Labour group wants to do as much as it can to help.

“In recent years, the CAB’s budget has been absolutely slashed and we want to reinstate the funding to help them go forward.

“They lived in the Civic Hall rent-free and now they have to pay rent and have additional running costs associated with their move.

“During the past four years, the Conservatives kept cutting the grant until it was down to about £3,500.

“Now we have increased the funding I would like to see the CAB restore the advice sessions that it was forced to axe.”

Mrs Davies said the CAB’s grant from the last Labour group budget of 2007/2008, before the Conservatives took control of the council, was £9,101.

She added: “The treatment of the CAB in Didcot has been shabby and shameful at a time when the workload of staff is increasing because of the recession.”

In the year 2009-10, the bureau dealt with 5,800 inquiries. It has 40 volunteers and 10 paid staff.

In March, the CAB closed advice sessions on Wednesday mornings and Thursday evenings at its Didcot office, and on Monday morning at its Wallingford office.

Judith Abela, manager of Didcot CAB, said: “We are very grateful for the support the town council has shown us and we will now look very closely to see what we can do to improve the service in Didcot, which could include restoring the cancelled advice sessions.”