Sir – A couple of weeks ago I went on a visit to Oxford City Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) to meet its manager, David Scott, to discuss the work of the CAB and the impact of the current crisis.

That visit highlighted for me the excellent work our CABs, and other similar organisations, are doing in our community to help people with debt problems, to get the benefits they are entitled to, and to offer advice on a whole host of other issues.

It is work they do all year round, but it is in tough times like these that we often value it even more.David explained to me about Oxford CAB’s work, how it’s financed, and the fabulous commitment of its volunteers.

While day-to-day demand for CAB advice is always phenomenally high, he and his team are also doing a lot of work to give Oxford people support, advice and training in how to manage their finances before they get into problems — prevention is always better than cure.

Voluntary and Third Sector organisations like the CAB contribute so much to our communities and often can deliver advice and services to people far more effectively that the state can operating alone.

The CAB relies upon the partnerships it has with the council, and with other organisations to make ends meet financially, and it relies on volunteers to actually deliver advice — at a time when the economic situation has made the demands on voluntary organisations heavier we must remember to support organisations like our CAB and make sure they have the resources they need to do their important work.

Ed Argar, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Oxford East