How can we help?

Our Income & Financial Inclusion Team is here to support you to understand your finances and manage your money better and in doing so will provide you with all the information and skills you need.

Firstly, contact our Income and Financial Inclusion Team as there are many things we can do to help you, from working with you to put together a budgeting sheet to checking your benefits entitlement.

For free and impartial advice, you may wish to access the Money Helper website which has a lot of advice on a range of financial topics.

Universal Credit is now the principle means tested benefit available to working age individuals in need of support. It replaces working age Legacy Benefits which are due to be ceased by the end of March 2026

Universal Credit supports those who are unemployed, or who are unable to work due to sickness, or those who have caring responsibilities. It can also include allowances for children, as well as childcare and housing costs where appropriate.

Universal Credit includes a Housing Cost Element (HCE) which replaces Housing Benefit for working age individuals. For those who have reached State Retirement age, housing costs will continue to be covered by Housing Benefit. Our Income team & Financial Inclusion team will be able to advise which benefit you may be entitled to, depending on your circumstances.

You may be able to get help with extra living costs if have a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability, have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of your condition and/or that disability or health condition is severe enough that you need someone to help look after you. Depending on your age therefore, you may be entitled to Personal Independence Payments (PIP) or Attendance Allowance, (AA). Please contact our Income & Financial Inclusion team for further advice.

Please contact our Income team for a full Welfare Benefits as they have a great deal of experience in this area. We can check what you are entitled to, help you make a claim and where necessary help you challenge a decision if you don’t agree with it. Given the potential complexities we urge you to take advice. Should you wish to check your possible entitlements, you could use one or other of these Benefits Calculators.

Please get in touch with us straightaway if you find yourself struggling with debt. Our Income team can help with debt advice and point you in the right direction. We urge you not to ignore it!

There are several options available and we encourage you to seek free and impartial help and support which you can locate using the following tool from Money Helper. This will avoid using costly and misleading alternatives.

Firstly contact your energy provider if you are struggling with your energy bills as they have a range of schemes available to support their customers. Our Income and Financial Inclusion team can also help identify other support that may be available to you so please contact us for further advice.

For a range of advice and support regarding your water supply, how to save water and reduce your bills, as well as dealing with payment issues, it’s best to contact United Utilities or the water and waste water provider in your area.

Please get in touch if you are struggling to afford and/or find furniture and/or white goods. There are a range of options available that you may be able to take advantage of, including pre-owned suppliers and local welfare schemes, that we can put you in touch with, and this may also be something that we can help you with directly depending on your circumstances.