We won! Victory for woman told to repay £842 care money

Natasha Cox “petrified” by care bill A WOMAN with severe brain damage and epilepsy has been ordered to repay hundreds of pounds of care payments after Town Hall officials criticised her for spending some of the money on coffee and cleaning. Natasha Cox, a former Hampstead School student who lives in Hampstead, says she is … Read more

Winning free homecare in Hammersmith & Fulham

Campaigners in Hammersmith & Fulham win free homecare! Congratulations to Hammersmith & Fulham Coalition Against Cuts (HAFCAC) – disabled and older people win free homecare! HAFCAC won the commitment from the recently-elected Labour council to abolish homecare charges – a “tax on disability” — from April 2015, paid for by cutting the council’s PR budget.  … Read more

Benefit rights — debt advice

First check that you do really owe the money. Mistakes are common and it is possible that your debts have been miscalculated. If you do owe it, check if you can get any discounts. Your debts can be cancelled or reduced to smaller repayments. And check you get all the help available to maximise your income. To challenge … Read more

Benefit rights — challenging benefit sanctions

Sanctions to your Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) mean that your benefits are stopped or reduced as a punishment. Jobcentre staff are brutally stopping benefits for trivial reasons, saying that claimants have not kept to what they must do, whether they are jobseekers or sick and disabled people on ESA. Sanctions … Read more

Benefit rights — private renters

Almost 40% of the annual £25bn housing benefit bill is paid to private landlords, who often get away with charging extortionate rents for poor quality housing. Tenants asking for repairs or furniture have been threatened with eviction or harassed, so it is important to know your rights. Groups that support tenants and also campaign, are: … Read more

Benefit rights — bedroom tax

Since 2013, the government reduced Housing Benefit (HB) to people in social housing who have one or more “spare” rooms. (Social housing is council, housing association or similar. Councils administering HB make the cut.) The government gives councils extra funds called Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) to help tenants in hardship due to the bedroom tax. … Read more