Millions of vulnerable people are missing out on benefits, charity warns

A report from the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute says many people with mental health and financial problems are not accessing benefits they are entitled to because support to claim them is uneven and overstretched; research group Policy in Practice estimates about £24 billion goes unclaimed each year.

A report by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (MMHPI) says many vulnerable people in the UK are not receiving benefits they are entitled to because local support to claim them varies widely. The charity reports services that help people access unclaimed income are overstretched and inconsistently provided across the country. Research group Policy in Practice estimates about £24 billion of entitled income goes unclaimed each year. The MMHPI survey found low awareness and limited use of income maximisation support among people with mental health and financial problems. Reported findings: - The MMHPI describes a postcode lottery in provision of support that helps people claim income they are entitled to, affecting those with mental health and debt problems. - Policy in Practice is cited as estimating around £24 billion of entitled income is unclaimed in the UK each year. - The MMHPI survey found that only about one third of people with mental health problems and financial difficulty had used income maximisation support; 52% reported regularly running out of money for basics and 72% said they did not know these services existed. - Researchers reported that online benefit calculators are often insufficient for people with mental health issues (noted as the case in a high proportion of instances) and the charity has called for ministers to commission a national review; the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers has launched a campaign to make social welfare advice a statutory duty. Summary: The report highlights that uneven and under-resourced support is leaving many eligible people without income they could claim, and that awareness of existing services is low. The MMHPI has urged ministers to commission a nationwide review of income maximisation support; any formal government response is undetermined at this time.