CITIZENS Advice (CA) is to merge four of its Somerset groups into one later this year to help cope with a financial crisis.

But Citizens Advice West Somerset has opted out and will remain an independent charity.

The trustees of the Taunton, Sedgemoor, South Somerset, and Mendip groups have agreed the move will take effect on October 1 with the new organisation being known as Citizens Advice Somerset.

Across Somerset, CA was known to be facing a funding shortfall of more than £100,000 this year, with Taunton alone missing out on £40,000.

A West Somerset spokesperson said: “The nature of our population and location is quite different to those areas covered by the merging offices.”

The spokesperson said West Somerset had one of the lowest social mobility ratings in England and an extremely high number of elderly residents, 43 per cent of whom were aged 60 years or older.

They said: “This older population is at risk of being digitally excluded due to both a lack of IT skills and poor broadband/network coverage in our rural area.

“We meet people who struggle with some form or level of disability and are unable to apply for welfare payments or blue badges or cannot understand the contents of debt-related documents or letters.

“Statistics from Somerset Intelligence places West Somerset as high risk of digital exclusion, very high risk in terms of average age, very high risk in terms of disability, high risk based on low incomes, and medium to high risk in terms of skills.”

Between April, 2022, and March of this year CA West Somerset advisers provided one-to-one digital support to 30 per cent of those who visited the office as well as sorting out the issues with which they needed help.

The spokesperson said: “This way of working ensures we see these people on a face-to-face basis and do not rely on phone contact to offer them the best way to sort out their problems.

“The outreach services are strategically placed to try and counteract the high cost and difficulty of travelling across the West Somerset estate, by offering face-to-face access at regular venues.

“We offer outreach services to other organisations in the area, for example Butlins, in Minehead.

“We are also offering the best value outsourcing opportunity for the new Somerset Council due to our well-developed relationships with council teams such as council tax and housing.

“Our debt advisers also work with the external debt agencies, Dukes Bailiffs Ltd and Jacobs, Somerset Council’s commercial partners, and can help both companies achieve good outcomes for our clients.

“By working closely with West Somerset Food Cupboard, we can meet residents’ needs for help, we collect and distribute food to those in need.

“We have an ongoing programme to meet and talk to all 60 oarish and town councils in the West Somerset area and will continue with this work to both inform and help councils to understand the services we can offer their residents.”

Citizens Advice Somerset chief executive designate Angela Kerr said the merger was partly in response to a new unitary Somerset Council replacing the four district authorities to ensure services remained aligned with those of the council.

Ms Kerr said: “It is also felt that by coming together we will create a stronger and more sustainable foundation for advice services in Somerset.

“The new structure will ensure that we are best placed to respond to the ever increasing demand for our services and enable us to optimise our resources in support of the valued staff and volunteers working on the frontline.

“We plan to continue to work within all of Somerset’s parishes and are fully committed to providing locally responsive services as is the case at present.

“By joining together we will be able to extend the benefits of our specialist provision and enhance the support offered in each locality.

“Please be assured that our clients, staff, and volunteers are at the heart of our planning.

“We are very busy putting everything in place to ensure that services are uninterrupted and that our teams are supported through the period of change.

“As we begin the process of reorganising our operations we want to assure all our funders of our ongoing commitment to delivering discrete local and/or specialist projects alongside the Somerset- wide general advice service.

“During the autumn, we will begin discussions with all our stakeholders as part of the process of refining our vision and setting our objectives for the next few years.

“We are excited about the potential opportunities the merger will bring and in particular how it will enable us to provide more agile services in response to our communities’ needs.”