Campaigns
The Welfare Benefits Unit is committed to promoting awareness and increased take-up of benefits and tax credits. We have run campaigns on Disability Living Allowance, Pension Credit and the Sure Start Maternity Grant.
Reduce your Council Tax
In April 2010 we ran our sixth campaign in partnership with the Local Authority Benefits teams. This time simply called
'Reduce your Council Tax' we hope this initiative will see even more people claim the Council Tax Benefit that they are entitled to.
Take a slice out of your Council Tax
More partnership working with the Local Authority Benefit teams led to the 2009 'Take a Slice out of your Council Tax' campaign. Yet again a leaflet was sent out with Council Tax bills encouraging people to check if they were missing out on help with their Council Tax.
More Great News
From November 2008 all Child Benefit is disregarded as income for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. This means that even more families became entitled to help with their rent and council tax for the first time and those with children already receiving Housing Benefit and or Council Tax Benefit were entitled to an increase. The ‘More Great News’ campaign helped to raise awareness of this change.
60,000 leaflets were distributed to venues around York and North Yorkshire.
Great News.
In partnership with York and North Yorkshire district councils we are running a campaign called 'Great News'.
From 27 October 2008 all child maintenance will be disregarded as income for Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. The great news is that some parents may become entitled to help with their rent or council tax for the first time. Those already claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit who currently receive child maintenance of above £15.00 a week should see an increase in their entitlement.
We are distributing 60,000 leaflets. The leaflet provides contact details for all the local councils to check entitlement and make a claim.
"It's
time to claim".
Due to the successful partnership working described below, the Welfare Benefits Unit is working on a second campaign to raise awareness about Council Tax Benefit in April 2008.
It is running in the same way as the 'Take a bite out of your Council Tax Apple Campaign', and we are working in partnership with the same Local Authority benefits teams as before. This time, however, the target group for the campaign is people over 60.
Council
Tax Benefit Take-up Campaign April 2007-2008.
The Welfare Benefits Unit co-ordinated a campaign for the seven Local Authorities
in North Yorkshire working together with City of York Council. The councils
are: City of York Council, Craven District Council, Hambleton District Council,
Harrogate Borough Council, Richmondshire District Council, Ryedale District
Council, Scarborough Borough Council and Selby District Council. All households
received a leaflet at the same time as they received their 2007/2008 Council
Tax bills. Over 300,000 leaflets were distributed throughout the county. The
campaign was also featured in the local newspapers and radio.
The result was over £218,000 take-up in Housing Benefit and Council
Tax Benefit alone.
Download the leaflet as a PDF file (590k)
2006
Disability Living Allowance for Children:
Disability Living Allowance - Can it help you?
A 6-month pilot in Harrogate and Craven, ran in partnership with the Carers'
Resource (Harrogate, Craven and Airedale). 5,000 leaflets were distributed
to chemists, Education Officers, GP surgeries, libraries and schools.
We provided talks to Health Visitors and training for the Carers' Resource.
Download the leaflet as a PDF file (2.2 Mb
See earlier campaigns in our campaigns archive.