Barnet Council is urging residents to complete a ‘Financial Calculator’ to check which benefits they could claim

An image of pound coins — Photo by William Warby on Unsplash

Barnet Council has launched a new campaign to encourage people in the borough to claim benefits to which they are entitled by completing a quick, easy self-assessment

The campaign, Money Worries?, encourages residents to use the Barnet Financial Calculator, an award-winning, innovative tool that helps identify what additional benefits residents might be eligible to claim, based on their personalised circumstances.

The Financial Calculator also provides users with additional support and signposting to other helpful resources to manage their finances and bills once they have completed a self-assessment.

Some of its features include:

a comprehensive, all-in-one support portal, offering access to national benefits, social tariffs, retrofitting grants, and local grants.
highly accessible, including being available in over 100 languages.
simple and easy to complete and provides one-click access to go on and claim benefits where eligibility is confirmed.

Alongside the Financial Calculator, the Money Worries? campaign is also raising awareness of a new partnership the council has struck with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) to provide free, personalised and confidential debt advice to residents who have found themselves in problem debt.

Outreach sessions, with teams of council experts, are taking place at Chipping Barnet Library (every Tuesday, 10am-12.30pm) and Burnt Oak Library (every Thursday, 10am-12.30pm). Residents can attend and get help to fill out the calculator and find out more about cost of living support available through the council.

Every year, nationally, it is estimated that more than £18billion of benefits go unclaimed. This issue is getting worse year on year (21% increase in 2023). This means in Barnet that millions are going unclaimed.

Nationally, the main benefits not being claimed where people are eligible are Universal Credit (including for working families); Pension Credit; Council Tax Support and a range of other benefits. There has also been a continued decline in Council Tax collection. In Barnet, this has dropped from 96.1% in 2017/18 to 95% in 2022/23 (this year, a 1% drop equates to approximately £2.8m in lost revenue). National research shows the main blockers to people applying for benefits for which they are eligible are lack of awareness and administrative complexity.

Cllr Zahra Beg, Cabinet Member for Equalities, Voluntary and Community Sector, said: “When out meeting residents, the number one topic of discussion is the cost-of-living crisis and the impact it is having on households in Barnet.

“The Barnet Financial Calculator and MaPS debt advice service are two ways of helping to ease the pressure on our residents. We know that people living in Barnet are potentially missing out on millions of pounds of benefits for which they are eligible, so I urge you to take ten minutes out of your day to complete the calculator. It could make a big difference to your lives.”

The Financial Calculator can be found at the Barnet Council website: https://www.barnet.gov.uk/benefits-grants-and-financial-advice/cost-living-support

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