PRAISE has been lavished on Halton Citizens Advice Bureau after inspectors found it provides some of the best advice around.

External auditors scrutinised case sheets and assessed the quality of advice provided by the volunteers at its Runcorn and Widnes offices.

They confirmed that Halton CAB is in the top 20% of all the CABs in the country.

Halton achieved a score of 84% - last year, only 18% of CABs in the country scored above 80%.

Hitesh Patel, chief executive of Halton CAB, said the achievement can be considered even better when judged against other North West CABs.

Because of the North West’s higher than average levels of poverty and social deprivation, the problems dealt with are more complex, meaning a tendency for the region’s CAB branches to score lower marks.

He said that North West offices often struggle because of the sheer weight of demand for complex advice.