Thursday 3rd June 2010
Cost to Members - £75 Cost to non-Members - £120
(Inclusive of lunch, refreshments & course notes)
Venue: The Dutch Church, 7 Austin Friars, London, EC2N 2HA Tel: 020 7588 1684
Booking Form - All places have now been booked
Outline of the Day
Overview of Benefits & Employment and Support Allowance - Workshop led by Jayne Knights (biography)
This day course is aimed at those workers or volunteers who both write reports and make recommendations, or the decision makers who approve grants and need a comprehensive guide through the benefits system in order to provide the maximum support to clients or beneficiaries. It will start with an overview of changes resulting from the latest budget and build over the day. By the end of the course participants will have gained or updated their skills and confidence in this complex area, and will be able to identify the appropriate benefits available in different circumstances, the relevant qualifying criteria, and how to support a client through the claiming process.
This timetable should not be viewed as written in stone, and may be varied according to the needs and pace of the group. It would be very helpful if everyone could bring a calculator!
Morning (sessions 1 & 2) – AN INTRODUCTION TO THE SYSTEM AND A GUIDE TO THE DISABILITY- RELATED BENEFITS
- Introduction and aims of the course
- General overview of benefits – what’s in, what’s out, how they fit together, the changing role of the Department for Work and Pensions, effect of the Pensions Act 2007 and Working Age for Women
- The basic structure of Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance plus a detailed look at the respective claim forms, strategies for successful claims, what to do when it all goes wrong
- Issues for carers – claiming carer’s allowance and how it affects other benefits
- The Employment and Support Allowance – introduced October 2008
Afternoon (sessions 3 & 4) – AN OVERVIEW OF INCOME- RELATED BENEFITS AND HOW THE SYSTEM ALL FITS TOGETHER
- The basics of the means-test system, rules about capital, and how to claim
- Working Age Benefit and Pension Age Benefit
- Benefits for older people – how Pension Credit works, helping clients get all that they are entitled to, accessing the Social Fund
- A guide to Housing Benefit and Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – how LHA looks in your area
- How everything fits together – case studies and real life examples
- Putting everything into the context of your work – and how to get technology to help you!
The emphasis of the course is to provide a clear, humorous and demystifying guide through a complex system, using participatory exercises and group-generated case studies.