Trade charity assesses tough times

We are sat in a room in the impressive surroundings of the Licensed Victuallers School.

Among the pupils at the fee-paying Ascot independent, owned by the charity, are many whose parents have worked in the trade. But if they could hear details of our meeting they may seriously consider alternative career options.

I have been invited to a Licensed Trade Charity (LTC) meeting, where trustees and volunteers discuss various applications for help and to decide who should be given cash.

There is a depressingly long list of people in need of help, who either work in or are retired from the trade.

As the meeting progresses we hear details of the cases with LTC volunteers - who have visited the applicants - putting forward their views and explaining the often heart-rending situations people face.

As chairman of the support and care committee Ray Russell, a High Wycombe licensee, explains: "The job of the committee is to assess the cases and to make sure the money goes to the right people. We have a limited amount.

"The visits by the volunteers are therefore one of the most important things we do because their reports can help us make an informed decision."

That "limited amount" works out at about £550,000 being given out this year in the form of one-off grants and on-going regular payments.

Today the committee is assessing about 30 applications, a process it goes through every six weeks. On top of this scores more are given advice on the phone and pointed in the direction of the services they can use every week.

To qualify for a grant you need to have worked in the trade for three years and that could be in a range of jobs. Today alone there are applications from draymen, licensees, bar workers and the widow of a district manager who needs help paying for her husband's funeral.

Other cases are similarly emotive. One example is Angela Cullen, who is given ongoing support looking after her four grandchildren following the death of her daughter.

Today a former bar worker who lost a child to leukaemia is successful in getting financial help so she can get back on her feet.

It is not just those who have suffered personal tragedies that call on the LTC. Over the past few years there has been a surge in the number of people needing financial assistance just so they can afford to complete the bureaucracy that goes with becoming bankrupt - it costs about £450 a time.

Russell said: "What we are dealing with more of is the amount of bankruptcies, which have really increased in the last 18 months.

"It's a very sad situation, but we help wherever we can."

There are numerous cases of licensees and ex-licensees running up massive debts - often on their own credit cards - in failed bids to keep their businesses afloat.

However, just asking for the cash is no guarantee that they will get it. The charity is understandably wary of throwing good money after bad.

One woman asks for help to cover two monthly mortgage payments, but the trustees fear she could return for more help not too far down the line.

One volunteer says: "You could give her the money but would it solve the problem? This is charity money we are giving out and we have to be responsible."

It is a sad truth that many more people will be forced to ask for help the next time the committee meets.

For more information visit www.licensedtradecharity.org.uk​