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Principles met

  • Co-production

    We will develop systems that enable citizens to be equal partners in designing and commissioning public services and in determining the use of public resources.

  • Innovation

    We will embrace innovation in how we work with local communities to drive positive change.

  • Learning

    We will capture and ‘expand’ the experience and learning from individual projects and approaches in order to encourage broader application of co-operative principles within individual member Councils and across the Network.

National government announced that, from winter 2025, only households in England and Wales that receive Pension Credit or certain means-tested benefits will be entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment.

From this announcement, Trafford Council decided to launch a Pension Credit task group, a subgroup of the Trafford Poverty Action Group, to support Trafford residents to submit Pension Credit applications, with the knowledge that eligible people must apply by 21 December to qualify for 2024/25 winter fuel payment. It is also vital that older people who are entitled to Pension Credit apply for it because it opens up eligibility for the Warm Home Discount, lower water bills, free TV licenses and possibly Housing Benefit and/or Council Tax Support.

In February 2024, there were 4,161 Pension Credit claimants in Trafford (10.5% of the population in Trafford aged over 66).

The Council used a data-led approach as it knew that more than 2,400 residents in the borough may be entitled to claim Pension Credit but have not yet applied for a variety of reasons, including that they feel there is a stigma attached to being in receipt of a benefit. 

It was estimated that around £6.15m in Pension Credit is unclaimed in Trafford every year and this is a figure that is on the increase. This equates to around 2,444 people who are eligible but not claiming.

Based on estimates from Independent Age, the estimated cost to the health and social care system due to this non-uptake was £18 million

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