Welfare Benefits and Mental Health e-learning Resources
The most useful websites for obtaining and updating information in this area are listed here with a short description of what they have to offer. Home pages for Government Departments or services. The Department of Works and Pensions (DWP) - www.dwp.gov.uk - contains a great deal of „official‟ information regarding welfare benefits. It includes the „Disability Handbook‟ which is produced by medical staff at the DWP and is used by decision makers and medical service doctors when considering claims for Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance (AA). It tells them “in general terms what care and mobility needs can be expected to arise from different medical conditions”. Also, forms for many benefits are downloadable from this site. There is also the Directory for Disabled People website at www.direct.gov.uk/disabledpeople - again „official‟ information regarding benefits, tax credits. General Welfare Rights sites run by voluntary/charitable organisations such as the Child Poverty Action Group - www.cpag.org.uk - and Disability Alliance - www.disabilityalliance.org Both are leading publishers of Welfare Rights Guides. CPAG publishes a bi-monthly update „Welfare Rights Bulletin‟. The Disability Alliance similarly publishes “Adviser”. CPAG guides are also published online. Both sites have good downloadable information and links.The other major organisation is Citizens Advice www.citizensadvice.org.uk which runs a national network of local bureaux. The main public information service of Citizens Advice is the Advice Guide website www.adviceguide.org.uk where people can ask benefit questions. Welfare Rights Organisations run by one or two individuals, usually doing a mix of publishing and training. One example is Benefits and Work - www.benefitsandwork.co.uk. This site includes useful free downloadable information and also downloadable guides for members which include „Claiming Disability Living Allowance on Mental Health Grounds‟ and „Incapacity for Work and Mental Health‟. Another is Neil Bateman and Co - www.neilbateman.co.uk - This site contains excellent links to welfare rights resources. It also has good medical reference resources. The site also has a set of standardised letters (concerning welfare benefit issues) which are probably of more use to advisers or „on the ball‟ claimants. Advice Services which are mainly for residents/advisors in a particular geographical area but which can be accessed - at least partially - by
others. Advicekit - www.advicekit.info/ - designed for Manchester residents but has very useful information and links. The London Advice Services Alliance (LASA) has a site www.rightsnet.org.uk which is a welfare rights website for advice workers. Advicenow www.advicenow.org.uk is a project of Advice Services Alliance, the co-ordinating body for independent advice services in the UK. Provides up-to-date information on law and welfare rights. Nottingham has a decent site www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk with some good basic information regarding Welfare Rights and Mental Health. As has East Bristol www.bhs.org.uk with some downloadable guides, such as “Claiming DLA - a Guide for Adults Suffering Mental Health Problems”. However, these guides have not been updated since July 2002. Disability Sites, usually charities or voluntary organisations. There are generic organisations, such as RADAR www.radar.org.uk described as the UK‟s campaigning and advisory disability body, run by and for disabled people. It has recently produced a new website www.RADARnetwork.org.uk. This has a number of active discussion fora, for eg ,Incapacity Benefit Reform and also Welfare News stories. There is also DIAL UK www.dialuk.org.uk, a national organisation for a network of approximately 140 local Disability Information and Advice Line services. Good downloadable fact sheets such as “DLA and AA: Survival Guide for a Doctor‟s Home Visit”. It has very good links. There are also organisations specific to a particular disability such as the Alzheimer’s Society www.alzheimers.org.uk which gives information on benefits likely to be claimed by people with a diagnosis of dementia or their carers. Another is the National Autistic Society www.nas.org.uk which has good information on claiming Disability Living Allowance as well as other benefits relevant to people with a diagnosis of Autism and/or their carers. Age related sites The useful sites here include Age Concern www.ageconcern.org.uk . This provides information for people over the age of 60 years and their carers. It has good fact sheets on benefits and income tax. Connections Direct www.connexions-direct.com is a government funded service. It is an information and advice agency for young people aged 1319 years. It also provides support up to the age of 25 for young people who have learning difficulties or disabilities. Not so much here on welfare benefits, but good information on managing money as a student, financial
support for students with disabilities. Young Minds www.youngminds.org.uk, part of MIND is good for information about mental health issues and young people. However, it does not contain specific information regarding benefits and finances. Housing sites include Shelter www.england.shelter.org.uk the foremost Housing Advice agency in England. It has good information on all aspects of housing and homelessness including guides to Housing Benefit. Legal sites are also relevant. The Legal Action Group www.lag.org.uk is an educational charity which aims to provide greater knowledge of the law and support to lawyers and advisers. The Legal Action Group publishes a monthly magazine “Legal Action” which provides regular updates on welfare law and social security issues. Community Legal Service Direct www.clsdirect.org.uk provide a series of leaflets that outline one‟s legal rights in key areas of law. These include “Welfare Benefits” and “Rights for Disabled People”. Patient UK www.patient.co.uk is primarily a health site. It is a partnership between two GPs and a computer company. Its aim is to “provide nonmedical people in the UK with good quality information about health and disease”. It includes a variety of useful leaflets regarding welfare benefits. Major Mental Health Charities and voluntary organisations. MIND (National Association for Mental Health) - www.mind.org.uk is a superb resource for a range of topics but is surprisingly disappointing regarding welfare benefits. Its benefits page hasn‟t been updated since July 2003. Rethink www.rethink.org.uk previously the National Schizophrenia Fellowship (NSF), is similarly quite light on welfare benefits. Both MIND and Rethink have been vocal in their criticisms of the proposed changes to Incapacity Benefit and contain plenty of good information about the proposed changes. The Scottish Association for Mental Health www.samh.org.uk is strong on welfare benefits and has a number of good, up to date, downloadable guides for people with mental health issues. n.b.Mental Health legislation is different for Scotland (and Northern Ireland), but the welfare benefits legislation is essentially the same for all.
Best Buys
If you have the resources to invest in published or on line material in this area the following are well worth considering: Publications : Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook (CPAG) 8th Ed. April 2006. £33.00 Paying for Care Handbook (CPAG) 5th Ed. December 2005. £18.50 Child Support Handbook (CPAG) 13th Ed. December 2005. £21.50 Welfare Rights Bulletin 6 times a year (CPAG) £24.00 Guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit (Shelter). June 2006 (last ed. Was £23.25) Personal Finance Handbook. 1st Ed. January 2005 (CPAG). £14.00 Disability Rights Handbook (Disability Alliance), 31st Ed. 2006/2007 (May 06) £19.00 Disability Rights Bulletin - 3 times a year (Disability Alliance). £11.25 Big Book of Benefits and Mental Health 2005/2006. £15.00 Cheques payable to Neath Mind Association, Income Project, Neath Mind, 32 Victoria Gardens, Neath, SA11 3BH Online : Annual subscription to CPAG‟s Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Online (basic version) @ £28 + VAT (£32.90) per user. Annual subscription to CPAG‟s Child Support Law Online (with regs and case law) @ £21 + VAT (£24.68) per user. Annual subscription to CPAG‟s Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Law Online (with regs and case law @ £86.00 + VAT (£101.05) per user. Annual subscription to Benefits and Work @ £75. Created by: Alex Davis, Suresearch member, June 2006