Halton Borough Council’s Welfare Rights Service has helped hundreds of residents who have either lost benefits, or did not know what they could claim – and they can help you.
The team has been able to help with numerous benefit appeals, and last year they had a 95% success rate. They have also been able to obtain £900,000 for those assisted by the Macmillan benefits service.
Personal Independence Payments and Attendance Allowances are where most of the increased payments have been gained, with a total of over £2.1 million in extra payments so far for users of the service.
The Welfare Benefits team has also been able to negotiate debt payments of nearly £164,000, enabling relief for those who owed money to lenders.
The team comprises three sections. One of these deals with Welfare Rights which includes form completion, advice and representation at appeals tribunals if refused benefit or the award is believed to be too low.
The second part of the service deals with Macmillan Cancer support, which enables specialist welfare rights advisors linked into local hospitals and the community focusing on those touched by cancer or others who have a palliative diagnosis.
A smaller section of the service deals with debt advice.
Cllr Mark Dennett, the Council’s Executive Board Member for Corporate Services, said: “This is a very important arm of Halton Borough Council’s financial service. We do not want our residents feeling they have been left out when a misfortune or set of circumstances may have left them in need of financial help.”
He continued: “While it’s wonderful to see that £2.1 million has been gained by residents in need, we know there are more cases which need our assistance. My advice is get in touch as soon as you can. We may be able to help.”
You can contact the Welfare Rights team by calling 0151 511 8930 or by email – welfare.rights@halton.gov.uk