Benefits Advice

Did you know that every year there are millions of  pounds in benefits that are unclaimed ?
Did you know that you may be entitled to some help with your rent and council tax even if you are working or have savings?
Did you know that:

• You may be entitled to claim extra help if you are disabled?
• The money you pay in Child Care Costs can be ignored from your income?
• You may be entitled to Tax Credits even if you don’t have a family?
• You may be able to claim EXTRA help with your rent and Council Tax on top of your Housing Benefit?
• Many energy and utility companies have funds set aside to help customers in serious debt?

West North West Homes has experienced Benefit Advisers who are able to help you claim everything to which you are entitled.

If you are struggling to manage and have lots of debts, we may be able to help by contacting the people to whom you owe money.

Sometimes we are able to apply for special one-off payments from charitable funds to help with your debts.

If we can’t help, we’ll put you in touch with experts who can.

You can contact us by attending one of our weekly sessions at your local Neighbourhood Housing Office or you can contact us direct by telephone at any time.

Benefit Take Up and Awareness Campaigns 
We recently completed successful Benefit Take Up and Awareness Campaigns in our sheltered housing complexes in Kirkstall, Little London, Wortley and Pudsey.  This resulted in us securing and extra £22,691 for our customers, in benefits they had not claimed.

Supporting Second Chance Learning campaign:
From April 2009, the Department of Works and Pensions extended Income Support and Housing Benefit up to age 21 for those young people in full-time, non-advanced education who can currently claim up to age 20. These are generally young people who live away from home because they are estranged from their parents or care, and who want to go back to, or carry on in, education. This change will enable them to continue to study and receive benefits up to age 21.

Our Benefits Advisors will be doing a take up campaign from September 2009 to make our young tenants aware of these changes.

Extra Housing Benefit for Families campaign:
From 2 November 2009, changes to the rules in Housing Benefit will mean that any Child Benefit will NOT count as income anymore.

Don’t miss out!  If you have children, live in rented property, but don’t get any Housing Benefit, you may qualify. Our Benefit Advisors will be doing a take up campaign starting in November 2009 to encourage families to apply when previously they did not qualify.

Our Benefits Advisor Team:
We have a team of 5 staff who are available to offer advice.

Jenny McClure, Benefit Advice Team Leader - Horsforth, Otley and Pudsey (tel: 0113 247 7035)

Valerie Melville, Benefit Advisor, for Kirkstall (tel: 0113 247 7053)

Natalie Manton, Benefit Advisor, for Wortley (tel: 0113 247 4573)

Shirley Humphreys, Benefit Advisor for Bramley and Armley (tel: 0113 247 7264)

Tanny Khaliq, Benefits Advisor for Little London (tel: 0113 247 7245)

Other useful telephone numbers: