Gwenda Thomas

Column for Neath Guardian March 09

In the current financial climate, the tackling of the problem of social inequality due to poverty is more important than ever. Many older people still live in poverty in Wales, and in order to combat this inequality, I as Deputy Minister for Social Services was pleased to launch the second phase of the Strategy for Older People in 2008. The Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government hopes to reduce poverty by targeting an increase in benefit take up, and the Strategy will address this. This re-enforces the One Wales ambition to improve access for all to comprehensive benefits advice, and our financial inclusion strategy underpins this.
In 2006-07 the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government allocated £1.5m to local authorities to improve the take-up of Council Tax Benefit, particularly amongst pensioners, and the numbers of claimants above the age of 60 increased significantly over the year.
However, the Department for Work and Pensions research tells us that approximately £100 million of council tax benefit goes unclaimed every year in Wales, so there is a lot more work to do. If you feel that you are eligible for Council Tax Benefit please contact the Council Tax Benefits Department on 01639 764755, or by calling at the One Stop Shop at the Civic Centre in Neath or Pontardawe, or by e-mail to housing.benefits@npt.gov.ukFor people who are having problems meeting their mortgage payments, the Labour-led Welsh Assembly Government has launched a Mortgage Rescue Scheme. A budget of £9.5 million has been provided to enable housing associations to buy a share of a house in order to help homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage. There are other options for homeowners to receive help with their mortgage payments and I have produced a leaflet which explains all the help that is available. I have also produced a similar leaflet to explain all the help available for businesses to survive the recession and to be ready when the upturn comes. These are available from my Pontardawe office.