There is also an article on new appeals rules and procedures in the August 2013 edition of the CPAG Welfare Rights Bulletin, available here
Disability Rights UK has produced guides to the social security appeals system which may be of help. These include one on appeals and mandatory reconsideration, and one on appeal hearings and how to prepare for them.
Customer Relations
National Customer Relations Manager
Atos Healthcare Block1, Wing G
Government Buildings
Otley Rd
Lawnswood LS16 5PU
Tel: 0113 230 9175
Helpline number: 0845 6057064 or Textphone 0845 6088551 (for people with hearing or speech impairments)
www.gov.uk/benefit-cap
Telephone: 0800 882200
Lines are open 8:30 AM to 6:30 PM Monday to Friday. From a landline your call is free.
This is a confidential telephone advice and information line for peole with disabilities, carers and representatives. It covers England, Scotland and Wales. BEL can provide general benefits advice and information, but staff do not have access to any claimant records and are therefore unable to give information on the progress of a claim or benefits you are already receiving. It is a confidential service and nothing you ask or say will go on your file.
Check your entitlement to
The Benefits Advice service can be contacted on 0121 464 7000
Telephone: 07889 650544 or 0121 603 2299 Email:
Information on family-based arrangements and applying to the Child Maintenance Service is available here:
http://www.cmoptions.org/en/family/index.asp
There's also an update on the proposed fees introduction here:
http://www.cmoptions.org/en/other-arrangements/statutory-service.asp
Phone number: 0800 988 0988
Contact a Family work with young children. They may be able to refer you to a local network of refer you to a local network of trained advocates. Free helpline on 0808 808 3555
Other organisations that may be able to help are: Every Disabled Child Matters Norfolk Coalition Of Disabled People
Norfolk Disabled Person’s Alliance The Council for Disabled ChildrenIndependent Living Advice Line provides advice to disabled people and their carers: Telephone: 0845 026 4748 or email:
If you need help ring 08454 04 05 06
Citizens Advice Bureau Advice Guides - Self help from CAB on a range of subjects from benefits, consumer affairs to debt managment.
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/debt_e/debt_and_money_fact_sheet_index.htm
Website: www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk
They also have a newsletter you can sign up for to receive updates on current consumer protection issues.
You can call the Debt Advice Line on 0121 303 2087 from 8:45 am to 5:15 pm Monday to Thursday and 8:45 am to 4:15 pm on a Friday. You can email them directly at
Call Free on 0800 328 0006 or 01274 760839 may be cheaper from a mobile.
Benefits and Work also has a section on how to challenge ESA decisions, available here
Telephone 08454 04 05 06
FREEPHONE helpline 0800 138 1111 is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 3pm on Saturday.
Website
Enquiries and Reporting Centre, telephone: 0845 7 22 44 99
Women and Children – National Support Agencies
National Domestic Violence Helpline 0808 200 247
0808 200 247
NSPCC Child Protection Helpline 0808 800 50000808 800 5000
Southall Black Sisters 0208 571 95950208 571 9595
Newham Asian Women's Projec 0208 472 05280208 472 0528
Ashiana Project (London) 0208 539 04270208 539 0427
Ashiana Sheffield 0114255 5740
Karma Nirvana 0800 5999 2470800 5999 247
Henna Foundation (Cardiff) 029 2049 6920029 2049 6920 Iranian and Kurdish Women's
Rights Organisation (IKWRO) 0207 920 64600207 920 6460
Respond (learning disabilities) 0207 383 07000207 383 0700
Forward (specifically for African women) 0208 960 40000208 960 4000
Shakti Women's Aid (Edinburgh) 0131 47523990131 4752399
Men's Advice Line 0808801 0327
British Embassies & High Commissions
Bangladesh Dhaka (00) (880) (2) 8822705-9
Sylhet (00) (880) (821) 724694
Ethiopia Addis Ababa (00) (251) (11) 6610588
India Mumbai (00) (91) (22) 6650 2222
New Delhi (00) (91) (11) 2687 2161
Pakistan Islamabad (00) (92) (51) 201 2000
Karachi (00) (92) (21) 582 7000
Turkey Istanbul (00) (90) (212) 334 6400(212) 334 6400
Yemen Sana'a (00) (967) 1308 100(00) (967) 1308 100
Diabetes UK website, phone number 0345 123 2399
Birmingham Community Healthcare Diabetes Service, website with contact details
http://www.birminghamsamaritans.org.uk/SamsContact.htmBirmingham City Council mental health teams, website
Mental health charity Mind in Birmingham, website and emergency contacts page
Rethink Mental Illness, website and helplines page
Birmingham Samaritans, website and contact details.
A joint campaign by Nursing Standard and the Patients Association aiming to tackle poor care and the causes of poor care.
The Patients Association, PO Box 935, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3YJ
Helpline: 0845 608 4455 Email:
Telephone: 020 8423 9111 Fax: 020 8423 9119
Website
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1461
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
http://www.college-of-law.co.uk/About-the-College/Legal-advice---Birmingham-and-the-Midlands/
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=free+legal+advice+in+birmingham&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a
http://www.birminghamlawsociety.co.uk/Legal-advice/Free-legal-advice.htm
http://www.lawworksclinics.org.uk/bflag/index.php
http://www.lawworks.org.uk/list-of-lawworks-member-clinics
To book an appointment please telephone 01483 216050 or e-mail
Find out if you are entitled to claim legal aid:
www.gov.uk/check-legal-aid
Overview
The Local Welfare Provision scheme seeks to assist vulnerable people who are in short term crisis, to meet their needs for food and essential items or to assist them to maintain their independence within the community. The scheme is not intended to replace the council’s statutory obligations, in any way.
Each application will be treated on an individual basis and the grant-based system will not require applicants to repay any awards made to them.
Before a grant is awarded the applicant will usually be required to demonstrate that their need cannot be met by another source. This may mean asking for help directly from other agencies or other parts of the council before continuing with an application.
The scheme is purely discretionary; a customer does not have a statutory right to an award and the amount that can be paid out by the scheme in any financial year will be determined by the amount of funding received from central government.
Once the scheme fund has been exhausted for the respective financial year, there will be no further awards.
http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/lwp
Ofcom have produced a guide in conjunction with other regulators and consumer groups with advice on what to do to prevent nuisance calls and how to complain. This is available on their website at: http://tinyurl.com/99n5qm7
If you are having problems with nuisance calls and would like to complain, they can also use the online portal on the Ofcom website at http://tinyurl.com/qbzoaa5 to help direct them to the appropriate regulator.
You can also sign up to the Telephone Preference Service at www.tpsonline.org.uk. This is a free service allowing UK consumers to opt out of receiving telemarketing calls.
Alternatively, you might want to report the problem to the Information Commissioner. Details about how to report your concerns are available here www.ico.org.uk/complaints/marketing.
Which? is running a campaign against nuisance calls here, www.which.co.uk/campaigns/nuisance-calls-and-texts, where you can report unwanted calls.
It might also be a good idea to make sure that your number is not in the phone directory, and ask your phone provider whether you can block international diallers or calls where the number is withheld.
You can also buy a device which either displays the number of the person phoning or requires unknown callers to give their name and details so you can choose whether to pick up.
See also:
http://www.fairtelecoms.org.uk/news-feed.html
http://bit.ly/1BTiVkp
http://www.saynotocoldcalls.com/
Govan Law Centre Payday Loan Survival Guide
http://www.stepchange.org/howwecanhelpyou/debtadvice.aspx
Govan Law Centre
Office of Fair Trading Payday Lending Compliance Review
If you're concerned about someone sleeping rough you can contact Street Link.
Shelter provides a free, national telephone advice line staffed by trained housing advisers. We have helped thousands of people, from finding them a place to sleep to suggesting how to handle mortgage arrears.
Ring 0808 800 4444 8am-8pm Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm Saturday-Sunday or visit the website
Their website is available here, and they can also be contacted by email to [email protected]
The Government has also provided some information on how to challenge a benefits decision since the introduction of “mandatory reconsideration” as the first step, available here
Speak to the college that you are interested in attending first regarding sources of funding. Funding for FE and adult courses depends primarily on the age of the student:
• 16-19 year olds may receive a 16-19 Bursary
• over 19 year olds may receive Discretionary Learner support
• over 24 year olds can apply for a 24+ Advanced Learning Loan
The 16-19 Bursaries are a financial incentive for 16-19 year olds in post compulsory education. There are two types of bursaries available:
Vulnerable Student Bursary - up to £1,200 per year for students that fall into any of these groups:
• In local authority care or have recently left local authority care
• receiving Income Support or Universal Credit;
• disabled and receive both Employment Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments.
Discretionary Bursary - in addition schools, colleges and training providers can make discretionary awards to students not eligible for Vulnerable Student Bursaries that face financial barriers to participation. The providers are free to choose the scale and frequency of the awards.
Discretionary Support Funds are available to all students over 19 years of age who are experiencing financial hardship. The learning provider decides how to allocate this support, how much students receive and how the support is paid.
You might also find this link helpful:
https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-helpNational Domestic Violence Helpline 0808 200 247, 0808 200 247
NSPCC Child Protection Helpline 0808 800 5000, 0808 800 5000
Southall Black Sisters 0208 571 9595, 0208 571 9595
Newham Asian Women’s Project 0208 472 0528, 0208 472 0528
Ashiana Project (London) 0208 539 0427, 0208 539 0427
Ashiana Sheffield 0114255 5740
Karma Nirvana 0800 5999 247, 0800 5999 247
Henna Foundation (Cardiff) 029 2049 6920, 029 2049 6920 Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO) 0207 920 6460, 0207 920 6460
Respond (learning disabilities) 0207 383 0700, 0207 383 0700
Forward (specifically for African women) 0208 960 4000, 0208 960 4000
Shakti Women’s Aid (Edinburgh) 0131 4752399, 0131 4752399
Men’s Advice Line 0808801 0327
If you have found a helpline useful and would like to share it with us, please get in touch.
