ONE small advice project covering communities across north Barnsley is responsible for residents clawing back more than £3m in benefits that would otherwise have gone unclaimed in the space of just two years.
Advisors have also assisted residents in getting debts valued at a total approaching £500,000 re-assessed to make them more manageable.
The success of the scheme, which is provided by Citizens Advice and an organisation called DIAL, illustrates the level of help needed by many to deal with financial issues and the figures involved have “astounded” the council official responsible for managing the scheme.
Barnsley’s North Area Council, which has a budget from Barnsley Council to fund projects in the district, set up the scheme in September 2015 and it has been enormously successful since then, with advisors helping residents claim almost £282,000 in benefits in the last three months.
More than half of those involved were given help to fill in claim forms and more people were given assistance in re-negotiating debts, to a value of £118,000.
It means that numbers of people who have been helped over the life of the scheme is now nudging 2,200 and North Area Council manager Rosie Adams said: “This project continues to astound me in benefit cases, people claiming what they are entitled to and the value of debt they have managed to get written off for clients.”
There had been 289 clients in the last three months, she said.
Coun Roy Miller added: “What the figures don’t show is the stress and pressure people are under. This has been positive for the council wards in the north area.”
The project has helped with more than benefits and debt issues, however, with a report to councillors stating: “The majority of those clients came to seek help with benefits issues, but we have also seen high numbers of clients requiring assistance with relationship, debt and consumer issues.
“Results from our feedback survey show that intervention from this project has helped to reduce stress and improve clients’ health and wellbeing.
“The results showed that 96 per cent of survey respondents felt less anxious after seeing the advisor.”
