Tag Archives: Stockport Help With Benefit Appeals Team

Mar 27 2020

First GM update on available welfare rights advice/representation – Stockport.

Further to our recent post about acting as a hub to detail welfare rights advice provision during this difficult period we’re pleased to be able to give you our first update, which is from Stockport Help With Benefit Appeals Team.

NB: We are painfully aware that this information may have changed pretty much by the time we post it. Please bear with us. Both the people providing the information and the people updating it are all doing the best we can in difficult circumstances. We’re happy to apologise in advance if this information falls to be out of date. 

Anyway, if you need welfare rights advice/representation in Stockport or you need to contact professional colleagues there then please note that they are all pretty much working from home at the moment.

Their details are as follows:

• No advice line as such but calls can be made to 0161 217 6003 which is the contact centre for Stockport Council and they will signposted.
• They currently deal with cases from the appeal stage unless it is a complex issue e.g. right to reside. General enquiries go to our advice centres or Citizens Advice. This service is currently changing with Citizens Advice taking over the management of it.
• The team email is benefit.appeals@stockport.gov.uk The online referral form is at https://www.stockport.gov.uk/start/request-an-appointment-for-specialist-help-with-benefit-appeals
• They are providing telephone appointments.
• Accessing post may be limited so contact by email or direct to an adviser once a case is taken via their direct number will be best.

Jul 9 2019

Minutes of the GMWRAG GM UC Forum finally available.

GMWRAG has taken our time getting minutes out from the first two very successful meetings of the GMWRAG GM UC Forum. This has largely been because of a need to ensure various parties are happy the minutes accurately reflect their participation and this, to be blunt, has been like herding cats. However, herding cats is not actually impossible (follow that link folks) and so here we finally are.

The minutes for both the January 2019 meeting in Oldham and the May 2019 meeting are now available for download from the GMUCF section of our site and they are of course password protected.

Regular GMWRAG users will be able to take a punt at our password but if not you can always DM us on Twitter or email to the usual address. If you don’t know the usual address then you’re possibly not a GMWRAG member or not paying attention.

The next GMWRAG meeting and GMWRAG GM UC Forum meeting was scheduled for Salford in July. That clearly isn’t going to happen so we’re now aiming for late August or early September. More news on this as we have it.

May 8 2019

Bedtime reading, Brexit and low-income housholds.

GMWRAG is busying up for our Brexit and Benefits half day epic later this month (not to forget the GM UC Forum) and in the spirit of making sure everyone is up to speed here’s some bedtime reading from Policy In Practice on the impact of Brexit on low-income households. GMWRAG remains (sorry, don’t draw ANY conclusions from that word) surprised at the lack of such modelling at such a key moment so this is if nothing else a good starting point for discussion.

You can find similar from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research but it’s 3 years old now. We were about to say that a lot can happen in 3 years but that’s probably not appropriate in relation to the B word.

More recently you can read https://ukandeu.ac.uk/poverty-after-brexit-no-dividend-for-those-on-low-incomes/ but how much bedtime reading do you actually want?

Far better to come hear our two brilliant speakers on the 17th of May 2019.

If you can’t make it please bear in mind that GMWRAG has just received the best apology ever. Can it be topped? It may get topped off.

“I am helping build a Celtic roundhouse that day” is pretty impressive. GMWRAG will simply accept no apologies which fall below this standard. We can think of no better way to make attendance compulsory 🙂

GMWRAG has thusfar resisted the temptation to get into a discussion as to how the whole concept of Celts is genetically dodgy etc. We’re willing to add it to “AOB” though!