Who should attend this course?
This course is suitable if you work in one of the following sectors:
- Small voluntary sector organisations who provide help to members of the public e.g. foodbanks, caring organisations, community transport
- Social prescribers
- Housing providers or housing associations
- Local authorities
- Anyone who meets older people in the course of their work who are struggling to make ends meet
Many people, older people in particular, miss out on the assistance available through Housing Benefit and Discretionary Housing Payments, due to of a lack of knowledge of their rights and because of the difficulties with the claiming process. They risk being unable to meet their basic needs, and potentially fall into further financial difficulty and rent arrears.
Introduction and Aim
The cost of living crisis makes it more important than ever that people are able to maximise their income. Also, older people, particularly those with a disability or long a term health condition, may feel excluded by the ever increasing reliance on technology to access information, communicate with the state and claim benefits. Many people simply don’t know they may be entitled to Housing Benefit or Discretionary Housing Payments.
This course, run by Citizens Advice Devon, will help to provide participants with the confidence and knowledge to help people address these issues. This will be done by:
- providing candidates with a system by which to check potential entitlement
- explaining how the system works and where people can find out more
- covering the basic conditions of entitlement to Housing Benefit and Discretionary Housing benefits and how to claim
Objectives
This course will enable participants to effectively:
- identify key conditions of entitlement to Housing Benefit and Discretionary Housing Payments;
- understand the basics of how Housing Benefit is calculated
- help people to make claims
How much does this course cost to attend?
DCT Members & Citizens Advice Employees - from £39.71
Charities/Community Groups, Parish/Town Council - from £49.46
Private Sector Organisations and Local Authorities - from £73.84
*Please note, there is a 10% Early Bird discount available if you book at least 4 weeks before the course date. The discount will be shown automatically at the Eventbrite checkout. The cost indicated includes the Eventbrite booking fee.
About your tutor:
Vincent Wilson - Vincent has worked for the Citizens Advice service in Devon since 1985. As an experienced trainer, he has provided benefits training for many years to voluntary and statutory sector staff, covering all aspects of the benefits system from introductory courses to Tribunal Representation. He has been a benefits caseworker for most of his working life, having taken cases to the Upper Tribunal level. He has been involved with national Health Education England in the design of an e-learning module on social welfare legal support and money guidance for social prescribers and has provided training locally on the financial support available to people worst affected by the rise in the cost of living. He is Chief Officer at Citizens Advice Teignbridge.
