Northumberland MP Ian Lavery has called for his Wansbeck Constituents to spread the word and encourage their family and friends to attend the latest of the open events his Constituency Office Team have been hosting at venues across Wansbeck.

• Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery to host the latest in a string of events aiming to get local pensioners access to welfare benefits they may be entitled to. The event will be held on Monday 10th February at Morpeth Town Hall from 10am until 12pm and all Wansbeck Constituents are welcome. Residents who are unsure if Ian is their MP can check online at www.ianlavery.co.uk

• The Member of Parliament for Wansbeck, whose constituency covers Morpeth, Bedlington and Ashington Wansbeck is encouraging residents to spread the news about this latest event in the hope that pension age constituents can join the growing list of local residents Mr Lavery and his team have helped to claim welfare benefits they were otherwise missing out on.

The aim and objective of these events is to check if Pension-age Constituents are entitled to a welfare benefit called; “Attendance Allowance.” Attendance Allowance helps with extra costs if you have a disability severe enough that you need someone to help look after you. It’s paid at 2 different rates and how much you get depends on the level of care that you need because of your disability. Claimants could be entitled to £58.70 or £87.65 a week to help with personal support. Mr Lavery said; “It is important to note that anyone who is in any way physically or mentally disabled and are state pension age or older could be entitled to Attendance Allowance. Some of the cases we have seen in the office regularly demonstrate just how few people know about this benefit or are even aware that they could be entitled to claim it. To many of our local elderly residents an extra £58.70 or £87.65 a week can make a drastic improvement to their quality of life.”

According to the Department for Work and Pensions; the other welfare benefits you
get can increase if you get Attendance Allowance and you do not have to have
someone caring for you in order to claim it. Mr Lavery, who has campaigned for
reform of Welfare rights since first being elected as the Member of Parliament for
Wansbeck in 2010, highlighted the importance of raising awareness surrounding
benefits which many people do not realise they are entitled to claim. Speaking about
figures he has obtained from the Department for Work and Pensions, Mr Lavery said;
“Statistics show that only 16% of pensioners have claimed Attendance Allowance
across the country. This money could be making a real difference to the lives of many
pensioners and I hope that residents in and around Morpeth will help us increase
those numbers by promoting this event.”