Welfare Benefits Advice

If you need Welfare Benefits Advice you will be offered an appointment to discuss your circumstances. We can help:

• Assisting in making and maintaining claims for Universal Credit and Housing Benefit.

• Assisting in applying for all other Social Security Benefits or Credits.

• Assisting in applying for Scottish Welfare Fund and other charitable grants.

• Assistance to challenge incorrect decisions through Mandatory Reconsiderations and Appeals.

• Assisting in submitting official complaints about Social Security benefits.

• Completing Benefit checks to check that you are claiming all the benefits that you are entitled to, or to check how a Change of Circumstance will affect benefits you are entitled to.

Appointments are available Monday to Friday, with late appointments on a Tuesday. To arrange an appointment, please email adviceteam@paisleyha.org.uk or contact any of our advice team

The Association has operated since 2013 and since then we have assisted many of our tenants to become better off, some examples of cases are outlined below:

Example 1

A tenant’s family contacted us due to their DLA being stopped and Pension Credit reducing. The tenant was unable to deal with their own affairs due to severe mental health issues. Our Advice Team contacted DWP on the tenant’s behalf and found it that he had failed a medical assessment when he was to be transferred to PIP. Our advisor realised that the tenant had received a telephone based assessment and had not fully understood what the call had been about. The tenant’s Pension Credit had reduced as his DLA had stopped.

The Advice Team assisted the tenant in submitting a Mandatory Reconsideration and the tenant was awarded the Enhanced Rate of PIP for both the Mobility and Daily Living elements. His Pension Credit has also increased again meaning he has an extra £220 per week to live on.

The family were also provided with advice to contact a solicitor regarding acquiring Power of Attorney.

There are many more examples like this, of people who have received assistance from our Advice Team and have had positive outcomes which have made a difference to tenant’s lives.

In the year 2020/21 our service assisted 360 tenants with 792 issues, these tenants received a total of:

• £36,000 backdated Housing Benefit

• £196,000 backdates from other benefits

• This is predicted to secure or protect an additional £1.33million over the next year