BetterOff Salford is about helping everyone in the city with the cost of living crisis and finding ways for residents to become better off. It’s part of our plan to create a better and fairer Salford by tackling poverty and inequality.
We’re here to help residents and businesses, providing both face to face and online support.
Help for your business
You choose what’s right for you. Talk to a trusted face in a local place at one of our Gateways or book a one to one video chat. For 24/7 support, check out our Better Off website which is an easy way to find out if you’re entitled to benefits and help you apply for them online. Get more information about help available on our Cost of Living section.
We might not be able to solve all your problems but there are lots of ways for you to get help. Whether you’re worried about benefits, debt, financial assistance, housing, health or wellbeing, or just need help getting online, chat in confidence with one of our friendly advisors.
Don’t suffer in silence, just get in touch. You can also call our Spirit of Salford helpline on 0800 952 1000 or complete an online form.
Coffee and chat sessions in the Gateways and some libraries
About our Coffee and chat sessions
Need help? Come along to one of our coffee and chat sessions in the Gateways. Talk to a trusted face in a local place.
No appointment necessary. Just drop into your local Gateway anytime between 10am and 2pm, on the day outlined below. Enjoy a free brew and talk to a friendly council advisor plus there are usually representatives from our partner organisations in the city such as Citizen’s Advice and housing associations.
- Mondays - Swinton Gateway
- Tuesdays - Walkden Gateway
- Wednesdays - Broughton Hub
- Thursdays - Eccles Gateway
- Fridays - Pendleton Gateway
And now we also have coffee and chat sessions in Irlam library every Wednesday from 9am to 12.30pm and at the same time on Fridays (starting Friday 11 November) at Little Hulton library.
Whether you have questions about Universal Credit, your business rates bill, where to turn in a financial emergency, how to make your money go further, stop smoking or get online, we and our partner organisations can help you.
Alternatively, you can now pre-book a 30-minute appointment (face to face, telephone or video call) with a local adviser on any weekday between 8.30am and 4.30pm.
Cloud coffee and chat – one to one video call
Need help? Don’t bury your head in the sand, do something about it. Talk to a trusted face in a local place – a senior advisor from your local Gateway centre. They provide support on council tax, business rates and benefits or can put you in touch with a wide range of services that can help you such as housing and health and wellbeing. You can book a one to one appointment via a video call at a time to suit you. We set these online sessions up during the pandemic but they’ve proved so popular, we’re keeping them going.
Find out more about cloud coffee and chat sessions
Better Off Salford – a benefits and employment website
About BetterOff Salford, our website
Our Better Off Salford website is an easy way to find out if you’re entitled to benefits and help you apply for them online. At the click of a button, you can also find jobs, childcare, and information on debt or money management.
Salford residents can easily find out for themselves whether they can become better off, especially those who are online and may not be able to get to council offices during opening hours.
From finding ways to improve your job opportunities to applying for Universal Credit, the website brings lots of useful information together in one easy to use place.
It’s easy to create a Better Off account through Facebook, Google, or registering your email address or mobile number. All information on the website can be translated into over 100 languages at the click of a button on the home page.
Once you’ve entered your personal information, you can choose for it to be saved to allow the system to pre-populate certain benefit forms in the future to save time. The job search history and journal section can be used as evidence for the Job Centre which helps prevent people from getting sanctioned.
BetterOff can help you calculate possible entitlement to benefit. It also offers wider useful information and details about access to local advice organisations. Support with learning basic digital skills is available in our Gateways centres and through our Digital Everyone programme.
So, keep on top of your budget, search for jobs and see what benefits you may be entitled to with BetterOff Salford. This digital development is one of many exciting new initiatives to improve customer service and create a better and fairer Salford.
What you can do on BetterOff
- In Your Money, you can use the calculator to find out what benefits you are entitled to.
- In the Applications and Appeals section you can find out if you are entitled to various benefits ranging from a boiler grant and Carer’s Allowance to Pension Credit or Working Tax Credits.
- In Debt advice and budgeting there are lots of resources to help you including budgeting tools, an energy grants calculator and links to local organisations for help and support.
- In the Jobs and volunteering section, you can search for jobs in one place as jobs from all the key websites such as Greater.Jobs and Fish4jobs all appear on the site.
Access the BetterOff Salford website
Need help to get back on track with your council tax bill?
We may be able to change or extend your payment plan, check if you’re entitled to benefits, Council Tax Reduction or other discounts or exemptions. We can stop things escalating and leading to unpleasant actions and costs.
There are many ways we can help. Use the forms on our struggling to pay your council tax page to get in touch and get back on track.
Don’t just take our word for it, hear from residents we’ve helped in this video and scroll down this page to see some other customer comments.
Customer feedback
“Being in and out of work as an agency worker meant I couldn’t claim benefits and it’s been difficult to budget. I just buried my head in the sand. I feel great now I have sorted something out. I should have done it sooner. Thank you!” John, age 52
“I’ve been trying to sort out my debts and council tax but I have been frightened and kept putting it off…now I’ve sorted it out, I feel so relieved. A weight has been lifted.” Rebecca, age 40
“I really got into a mess financially when I came out of work…things spiralled…I went into a debt management plan and I am now working so want to get on top of my arrears. I appreciate the help and the chance to sort it out at this stage.” Mike, age 24
“You have been brilliant, it’s amazing what you have done.” Josie, age 61
“As a single parent, this digital support has helped to ease my financial strain due to COVID lockdown. It feels good to know that there are people like yourself reaching out to help us with the free tablet scheme. I am sure that this scheme will benefit many other Salford residents who are in a similar situation to us.” Talat, age 42
“I could cry I am that relieved I don’t have to contend with the bailiff. Now I can let my son play out in the garden and not be looking over my shoulder. If I knew things could have been sorted like this I would have contacted you sooner but I was too scared.” Sharon, age 28
“I feel embarrassed by the level of arrears, I never thought I would be able to sort something I would manage. Life has been so difficult that I had no choice but to prioritise my money elsewhere. What a relief this is, I’ll make sure you I contact you if I have any more problems in the future.” James, age 41
“I am so grateful for your help. I will sleep tonight.” Dawn, age 66
This page was last updated on 27 February 2023