Know Your Entitlement – Nick Brown Launches Summer Benefit Take Up Campaign
Nick Brown has today revealed that he is to run a summer pilot campaign in his Newcastle East to increase the number of people claiming all types of benefits they are eligible for.
Nick said: “The average weekly amount of Pension Credit paid to eligible pensioners in Newcastle is worth £48.25 per week. We know there could be as many as 110,000 North East Pensioners who although entitled to this money are currently not receiving it. We therefore need a good take up campaign to get pensioners the money that is rightfully theirs.
“The Government has taken targeted action to support families, businesses and jobs through the current downturn. Pension Credit is just one of the ways that is being done. There is entitlement to working tax credit and family tax credit as well.
“Tuesday’s visit to Tyneside by Angela Eagle, the Minister for Pensions highlighted the work that the Government is doing to publicise entitlement and provide checks to ensure that where there is an entitlement, people get the real help, available now. But we need to do more.
“I can announce today that together with professional advisers from the Department for Work and Pensions I will be organising, over the summer recess, mobile advice centres, estate by estate, in my constituency to make sure that I do everything I can to make sure that every constituent gets their full entitlement.
“I am delighted that the Evening Chronicle has agreed to support and join with me in promoting this take up campaign, which complements the good work they have already done on their own Crunchbuster campaign. It is going to be a busy summer.”