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Welfare Benefits

Medway Council and Macmillan Welfare Benefits Service

The Medway Council Welfare Benefits Service has been running since 1998 and then in September 2010 the Macmillan Service was launched. It is a front line customer focused team, dealing directly with clients in Medway to provide advice, information, advocacy and representation on welfare benefit issues.

The two-part service is available to:

  • qualifying people living in Medway; or
  • people living with and beyond cancer, their carers and family.

Medway Council Welfare Benefit Service

Clients who need help and assistance with welfare benefit advice and information will need to ask their social care or health professional to complete a referral to the team. Self-referrals are not accepted to this part of the service; however referrals are welcomed from health professionals.

Macmillan Welfare Benefit Team

The Macmillan Welfare Benefit Service provided by Customer Contact in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Care and NHS Medway offers a service to people who live in the ME1 to ME8 area and who are living with and beyond cancer. 

To contact the Macmillan Welfare Benefit Service please call on 01634 333511 or email welfare.benefits@medway.gov.uk.

 

The team - what we do? - Services - Client groups - Social care support - Macmillan Cancer Support -

Benefits Rates for 2012/13

The team:

  • works closely with social care staff, health professionals and Macmillan information and support service;
  • accepts referrals from many other sources;
  • provides awareness sessions for people who work with people affected by illness, disability and cancer;
  • arranges to visit people wherever is most convenient for them, including their own home;
  • advises people of their entitlements and how to apply for all their welfare benefit/tax credit;
  • helps people with other benefit issues, including challenging unfavourable benefit decisions and representation at appeal;
  • refers/signposts people to other agencies that can help them to deal with, for eg. debt, housing and employment issues.

Services:

  • home visits to assess circumstances and advise on benefits, allowances and tax credits that may be available;
  • representation to relevant bodies such as Department for Work and Pensions (DWP);
  • training on a wide range of welfare benefits for internal staff;
  • benefit rate leaflets written and produced annually for distribution among staff;
  • benefit talks and seminars, the content of which can be adjusted to suit the requirement of the audience;
  • periodic benefit take-up campaigns with partner organisations.

The service supports the following client groups:

  • adults;
  • children and families;
  • adolescents;
  • 16+;
  • the elderly;
  • people affected by cancer and those with long term health conditions;
  • carers
  • people with a learning disability;
  • people with a physical disability;
  • young offenders;
  • people with addictions.

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. It provides a free phone and web service that provides practical, emotional, financial and medical information, directly from their team of cancer support specialists. Whatever questions you, your family and carers have about cancer, you can ask Macmillan.

Visit www.macmillan.org.uk or phone 0808 808 00 00.

Benefits rates for 2013/14

Download the Welfare Benefit Rates leaflet for April 2013 to April 2014 (pdf 46KB).

To use this file you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have it on your computer, please use the advice page.

For more information contact us by telephone: 01634 306000 or by email: welfare.benefits@medway.gov.uk

Write to: Medway Council, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham, Kent ME4 4TR

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