Welfare reform workshops

Know your rights - expect advice on benefits and debt - Salford Welfare Rights and Debt Advice Service

We will be running our next programme of welfare reform workshops during the Spring and Autumn of 2023. Facilitated by expert advisers from Salford Welfare Rights and Debt Advice Service, these practical and enjoyable workshops are for anyone (staff and volunteers primarily) who works with Salford residents in financial difficulty.

Specialist advice, income maximisation and representation are essential to both financial inclusion and tackling poverty as Salford residents face radical changes to their benefits and struggle to make ends meet both in and out of work. Links between poverty and the COVID-19 pandemic serve to reinforce the importance of these messages.

Our workshops are open to and free for anyone who works with Salford residents. They are ideal for staff and volunteers who needs an introduction, update, or refresher of the essentials.

All current courses will run remotely as Microsoft Teams meetings. Microsoft provide plenty of introductory resources.

If you have any accessibility issues regarding the use of Teams or require reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 please contact our training lead well in advance to discuss.

If you would like to book on one or more of the workshops (or a bespoke workshop for your team) then please email fiona.barker@salford.gov.uk

Understanding Universal Credit - The Essentials

  • Level: Basic
  • Date: Further dates to be confirmed
  • Duration: Two hours

This half day course is aimed at staff and volunteers working in Salford and will cover which benefits universal credits replaces, what are the changes that trigger a new claim for Universal Credit, what elements are included in Universal Credit, how it is calculated, dealing with common problems within Universal Credit, understanding current issues relating to Universal Credit in the context of COVID-19 and lastly when, where and how to get advice for families in financial hardships in Salford.

Understanding Benefits for Children and Families 

  • Level: Basic
  • Date: Further dates to be confirmed
  • Duration: Two hours

This half day course is aimed at staff and volunteers who work with children and families in Salford. The session will support completion of the Thriving Families Assessment Tool by equipping you with the essential questions to ask and help you to gain the skills to identify where families are missing out on entitlements. This sessions will cover an overview of the benefits available to support families and children, when and why a family may find their benefits are reduced (for example benefit cap, two child limit, bedroom tax or sanctions), identifying missing disability and carer’s benefit and lastly when, where and how to get advice for families in financial hardships in Salford.

Benefits for Carers

  • Level: Standard
  • Dates: Further dates to be confirmed
  • Duration: Two hours

This half day session looks at the main benefits issues affect carers and will cover, different types of health and disability related benefits which can be claimed in respect of adults and children, basic assessment criteria used within Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance, the advantages and disadvantages to claiming Carer’s Allowance and its impact on other benefits, how to maximize income for people living with a health problem and disability and their carer, how to access a carer’s budget payment and finally when, where and how to get advice for people in financial hardships in Salford.

Understanding Benefits for Adult Social Care Workers

  • Level: Standard
  • Date: Further dates to be confirmed
  • Duration: Two hours

The Benefit System is complex due to the huge of qualifying conditions, the many changes each year and the interaction between different benefits. The full day session is aimed at those working within adult social care and will cover the different types or categories of benefits, the qualifying conditions for the main benefits include Job Seekers Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Housing and Council Tax Benefit, Child and working Tax Credit, Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment, maximizing benefits (underclaimed benefits or premiums), when where and how to get advice for people who are in financial hardships in Salford, a summary of the main changes to benefits over the last year (proposed benefit changes) and finally tips for dealing with common benefit issues you client are likely to experience.

Universal Credit and Housing Costs

  • Level: Standard
  • Date: Further dates to be confirmed
  • Duration: Two hours

This full day session is aimed at staff and volunteers working in housing with clients, tenants and service users who live in rented accommodation and will cover who can get a housing element in their Universal Credit Claim, what is exempt accommodation and retain entitlement to Housing Benefit (including supported accommodation), finding out how is the Housing Element calculated (bedroom tax and non-dependents covered) and finally untidy tenancies and absence from home.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Form Filling and Challenging Decisions

  • Level: Standard
  • Date: Further dates to be confirmed
  • Duration: Three hours

This three hour session is aimed at anyone who works with clients, tenants and service users who have long-term health conditions or disabilities. This will cover who can claim Personal Independent Payment, how to complete Personal Independence Payment forms and what evidence is required to be provided and finally challenging adverse decisions and the appeal process that follows.

Help Through Crisis Workshop

  • Level: Basic
  • Date: Further dates to be confirmed
  • Starting times: Times may vary
  • Duration: Duration may vary

This workshop is designed to provide those who are working on the front line with those who find themselves affected by hardship or by a crisis situation. The objective of the workshop is to improve their knowledge of what provision is available to help them to deal with their immediate issues and to help them to identify the underlying issues that are causing the difficulties.

This page was last updated on 9 January 2023

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