THE Princess Royal will be in York on Monday to give the opening speech at the annual conference of the Citizens Advice Bureau service.

Princess Anne is the patron of the national charity and will address more than 1,200 delegates at the University of York's Central Hall.

Moira Haynes, spokeswoman for the charity, said the Princess had been its patron for a number of years and they were delighted she would be at the conference on Monday.

The theme of the three-day conference will be quality of service.

David Harker, chief executive of the National Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux (NACAB) said: "Our challenge in an age of technology is to enable more people to use our information and advice while increasing our influence on the policies and laws that affect our clients.

"We also need to be able to recruit and train more volunteers to meet the demand for advice. Not enough people know that all bureaux are independent charities, dependent on funds and volunteers."

Updated: 16:43 Friday, September 21, 2001