You may not always be aware of what you are entitled to when faced with a change of circumstances, ill health, redundancy, pregnancy, change of employment / income that's where we can help.  Generalist advisers (who are all volunteers) offer first tier advice and assistance, if the issue is or becomes more complex a referral is made to us.  We also accept referrals from outside agencies (social services, GP’s mental health team etc).

The Welfare Benefits Unit offer a specialist service for anyone who requires assistance with benefits. 

The Welfare Benefits Unit is made up of paid staff, who are funded by the Legal Services Commission.  Barbara Bailey is the supervisor of the unit and funded by Cheshire County Council, she completes case work and trains volunteers who are interested in Welfare Benefits.    

We are based in the Crewe office, but provide appointments in both Crewe and Nantwich.  There is a benefits session on a Monday at Nantwich bureau which is run by the supervisor with the help of 2 volunteers David and Janet.   

If you are unable to access the bureau we can in some circumstances offer home visits, however due to the amount of resources home visits take we always ask clients to attend the bureau where possible.    

How we can help

The unit offer advice and assistance with the following:  

Benefit check – these are to ensure that you are claiming your full benefit entitlement, and often identifying health issues / disabilities which could increase the your household income.  

New claims – we offer assistance with the completion of benefit claim forms which can often be quite complex in nature.  

Appeals – if you have made a claim for benefit you are sometimes refused, we assist with preparing the grounds for appeal, gathering evidence, and when we can represent at appeal hearings.  If we can’t attend a hearing we will prepare you for what will happen.   Appeals can take as long as 6 months to proceed to the tribunal stage, we aim to assist you through this process so it does not appear to be as daunting.  

We offer advice on entitlement and assistance with all of the following:  

• Disability Living Allowance

• Incapacity Benefit

• Employment Support Allowance

• Social Fund – Community Care Grants, Funeral Payments, Maternity Grants

• Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefits

• Income Support

• Job Seekers Allowance

• Attendance Allowance

• Housing and council tax benefit claims and appeals

How to be referred to us

In order to be referred to the Welfare Benefits Unit you will need to be seen through the generalist advice service of the CAB first where you will need to provide the following: 

·         Proof of your income e.g. Recent payslips, benefit books, bank statements, income from pensions and any other income.

If you wish to dispute a decision on Incapacity for Work or a disability benefit e.g. Industrial Injuries Benefit / Disability Living Allowance / Attendance Allowance, the following will be required.

·         The decision

·         Any other relevant documents concerning the decision

·         Names and addresses of your doctors including your hospital reference number if applicable.

For all other benefit disputes e.g. benefit overpayments, Job Seekers Allowance sanctions, Housing Benefit/Council Tax Benefit, Social Fund grants/loans etc., the following will be required.

·         The decision

·         Any other relevant documents

If you are acting on behalf of another person, their written authority for you to act for them must be brought to the appointment.

Contact us