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Welsh Assembly Government - 06 Oct 2008 16:53

Removing barriers to benefits take-up

Removing barriers is essential to helping people get the benefits they are entitled to says Minister for Social Justice and Local Government Brian Gibbons.

The Minister was speaking following the publication of research into the take-up of council tax and housing benefits in Wales.

The research, commissioned by the Minister, found that while some good progress has been made in increasing take-up across Wales there is more that can be done to make it easier for people to claim.

Visiting the Vale of Glamorgan Council (Monday 6 October) to see how they are increasing benefits take-up the Minister said:

In these economically difficult times it is very important that people can claim benefits quickly and easily, and are not put off by the claim process. Making sure that families claim the benefits they are entitled to is an important strand in our efforts to meet our One Wales commitment to tackling pensioner and child poverty.

The report makes a number of recommendations to local authorities, including the need to ensure that their claim forms and guidance are as clear and straightforward as they can be and that staff are trained to help claimants through the process.

Local authority websites should have easy to find, up to date and simple understandable bilingual information and contain the relevant forms. They should also ensure the speedy dispatch of forms whether they are requested by phone, in person or over the internet. Some authorities perform well in this area and all authorities should look at their own systems to make sure they are giving the best possible service to their local residents.

The Minister announced an extra £3 million for local authorities to increase the take-up of council tax benefit and housing benefit earlier this year.

Other barriers include a lack of information about benefits, a fear that claimants may lose other benefits or be taken into care, difficulties in sharing information between central government and local authorities and the inclusion of pensions savings in the savings threshold.

The Minister said that there were a range of reasons why people did not claim:

While a lack of knowledge may be a cause, very often the process of claiming benefit is perceived as being complex, intrusive and not worth the effort. This can mean that many of the one third of households who are entitled to assistance are not claiming their just entitlement.

To break down these barriers action is required by local authorities and by Government to make it easier to claim. I am in contact with UK Ministers to press for changes to be made to the benefits system so that there is a more automatic entitlement to benefit, and for increases in the earnings and savings thresholds.

Voluntary organisations can also help. They provide a wide range of useful services and support often to the most needy and vulnerable in our communities. As a result, they are well placed to understand local needs and help people understand what they are entitled to.

Related Links

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/localgovernment/finandfunding/counciltax/?lang=en

http://new.wales.gov.uk/topics/housingandcommunity/?lang=en

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Removing barriers to benefits take-up

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