St Helens council win national award

The Council was awarded Excellence in Social Inclusion at the Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation (IRRV) annual awards.

St Helens recognised the potential to increase the take up of benefits available to its older residents over a four  year period, means testing levels  increased by 34 per cent while at the same time, state retirement pension rose by only 16 per cent.

A Pension Service Partnership Fund grant allowed the Council’s Revenues and Benefits team to recruit two dedicated take up officers who organised home visits and community roadshows to ensure they contacted the  traditionally “hard to reach” older people who may have been deterred from claiming because of the stigma attached to the means test.

Working with The Pension Service and over 20 other organisations, the Council brought more than £2.4 million into the local economy and helped to achieve one of the Authority’s priorities which is to reduce social and health inequalities by community engagement and partnership working.