Projects
Advice Extra – York
The Welfare Benefits Unit is pleased to be able to offer extra support to advisers in York who are working with Universal Credit claimants or dealing with complex benefit issues.
The Advice Extra project enhances and strengthens the WBU advice line service by offering:
- follow-up: proactive contact following a UC query;
- in-depth support (eg. case work, appeals or direct client communication);
- bite-sized, free training on specific topic areas;
- advice clinics providing focussed discussion for teams providing advice.
Offering pro-active follow-up, in-depth support and targeted training the project provides support to advisers and other workers at a time of high complexity and change in the benefits system. The project aims to:
- empower existing local community advice services to deliver accurate, up-to-date advice;
- ensure specialist benefits advice is available to a wide range of York claimants who receive support in the community, within health or social care settings or who access advice services independently;
- identify recurrent issues and provide solutions, sharing this information through our advice and mailings to help avoid problems with benefit claims;
- support residents claiming Universal Credit or who have complex benefit issues.
The project will also explore closer partner working arrangements to support claimants through times of transition.
Please join our mailing list to be kept updated about WBU services.
Our advice line (phone and email) is open from Monday – Thursday 9am to 5pm and Friday 9am – 4.30pm making it easier to contact us with any benefit query.
We are grateful to City of York Council Financial Inclusion Support Group for the funding of this project.
We look forward to working with you.
Previous Projects
Universal Credit Focus provided additional support to advisers working with UC claimants in York area. Activities undertaken as the project rolled over 4 years included pro-active follow-up, in-depth adviser support, regular email-bulletins, training, briefings and research into the experience of UC claimants. The project successfully identified effective support which has formed the basis of further project bids and the introduction of WBU’s valued News in Brief and factsheets. Funded by the Financial Inclusion Steering Group at City of York Council. The project closed in March 2021.
Benefits Advice and Tribunal Support (BATS) project equipped York advisers and their clients with the knowledge and skills they needed to overturn incorrect benefit decisions. Funded by the Financial Inclusion Steering Group at City of York Council. The project closed in December 2016.
The Help in Hand project provided support to parents to help them claim Disability Living Allowance for their disabled child. Funded by the Lloyds Bank Charity. The project closed in January 2015.
“The Welfare Benefits Unit provides information that is timely and helpful as a result.”
“Very valuable resource for information and support with individual cases.”
