MORE than 16,000 people sought advice from Citizens Advice in Adur and Worthing last year.

Around 10,000 residents in Adur and 6,500 residents in Worthing have benefited from free, independent and confidential advice and information in the financial year to March 2018.

The most common advice sought by residents in the local area related to Universal Credit, benefits and tax credits, employment, housing, relationships and family.

As many as 31 per cent of Adur residents and 47 per cent of Worthing residents who accessed the service had a long-term health condition.

Citizens Advice is a national charity with local, independent offices across the country.

In Adur and Worthing, the local service is known as ‘Citizens Advice in West Sussex - North, South and East’, and operates from the Shoreham Centre, Lancing Library and Worthing Town Hall.

Adur and Worthing Councils make an annual funding contribution of £163,653 towards the service, while West Sussex County Council contributes £350,000 across the county.

The total spend on the service by local authorities across West Sussex is £1,049,577 which includes contributions from the remaining district and borough councils.

A report to Adur and Worthing Councils’ Joint Strategic Committee recommended that the councils continue to support the service for a further two years from April 2019 until March 2022.

This is subject to continued funding from West Sussex County Council.

The report also highlights some of the challenges facing the service, including having to find and retain 80 per cent of its workforce through volunteers and raising awareness of the different ways residents can access the service online via email and web-chat.