Websites with information resources for advice work
Action for Blind People: Useful resources about benefits & visual impairment
Advicekit: Manchester City Council’s innovative on-line advice service
Advicenow: Accessible information about a wide range of legal rights
Age Concern England: Advice factsheets
Age Concern and Help the Aged Scotland: Advice factsheets
Benefits in Mind: Neath Mind’s excellent site about benefits and mental health
Benefit fraud legal resources: Excellent site by Garden Court Chambers
Care and Health Law: By social care and health law trainer and consultant Belinda Schwehr
Care To Learn: Help with childcare costs for young parents aged 16+ who are in learning
Carers UK: Information about benefits and carers’ rights
Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion: Useful publications and information on welfare to work issues
Child Poverty Action Group: Information on many benefit issues
Citizens Advice Adviceguide: Information about a wide range of rights
Citizens Advice Scotland: Adviceguide with information on a wide range of issues
Community Legal Advice: Leaflets about a range of legal rights
Consumer Direct: Consumer rights advice
Coventry Law Centre: Employment rights leaflets (also about other subjects)
Date calculator: For checking benefit backdating or overpayments
DIAL UK: Factsheets on benefit issues
DirectGov: Benefits, tax credits and other information
DirectGov: Make online claims for benefits
Disability Alliance: Information on benefit issues
Electronic Immigration Network: Public resources page of this useful website
EMA Direct: Education Maintenance Allowance information
Govan Law Centre: Excellent Scots law resources about housing, employment, debt, benefits, etc
Greater Manchester Low Pay Unit: Factsheets about employment rights
Healthy Start: Advice about what it is and who qualifies
HMRC Adjudicator’s Office: For complaints about HMRC service and discretionary decisions (eg refusal to waive a tax credit overpayment)
Immigration Advisory Service Information on Immigration issues
Independent Review Service: Social Fund reviews and related matters
Institute of Mental Health Law (Dave Sheppard Associates): Excellent info about mental health law
Legal Action Group Information on legal help
Leasehold Advisory Service: Legal rights of residential leaseholders (e.g.service charges)
LHA Direct: Local Housing Allowances for each local authority/Broad Rental Market Area
Mencap: Factsheets on benefit and other issues
Multikulti: Rights leaflets in thirteen languages
National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers: Information on whats happening in your area
National Debtline: Useful factsheets and self help packs
Northern Ireland Law Centre: Northern Ireland social welfare law resources
Refugee Council: Publications for advisers (includes useful statistics)
Rights Advice Scotland: For local authority welfare rights advisers in Scotland
Rightsnet: News, discussions and resources for welfare rights work. The world’s greatest welfare rights website!
Rightsnet’s: Useful links page
Rightsnet Toolkit: Comprehensive benefits, tax credits & child support resources
Say no to 0870: Geographical equivalents for 0870 and 0800 numbers, useful for mobile phone calls to DWP & HMRC
Scots Legal Action Group: Legal and other help on line
Shelternet: Housing advice on line
Tribunals Service: Information about social security and other tribunals
TUC: Commission on vulnerable employment
Veterans Agency: Information about War Pensions, etc
Computer software and on-line calculators for welfare rights work
DWP: On-line Pension Credit calculator
Ferret Information Systems: Benefits calculation and information software
Lisson Grove Benefits Program: Benefits calculation software
QuickCalc: Calculators for benefits
Rights Advice Scotland: Online Pension Credit & HB/CTB calculator
Benefit Claim forms
DWP: Benefit and Other Claims on-line
HM Revenue and Customs: Claim form for Tax Credits
The Pension Service: Pension Credit and Retirement Pension: claim forms
Legislation and Caselaw
British and Irish Legal Information Institute: Caselaw (esp High Court and Court of Appeal) and legislation
Daily Law Notes: Summaries of all cases in the higher Courts
DWP: Social security legislation, caselaw and internal guidance
DWP: Law Volumes
DWP: Neligan’s Digest of Upper Tribunal/Commissioner’s Decisions
DWP: Housing and Council Tax Benefit information
Eur-Lex: European Union legislation, caselaw & much more
Home Office: Immigration law & policy
House of Lords: Judgements
Incorporated Council of Law Reporting: Free law report summaries
OPSI: Acts of Parliament
OPSI: Statutory Instruments
Rightsnet’s: collection of Commissioner’s/Upper Tribunal Decisions payment and registration needed for some parts
The Times: Law reports
Upper Tribunal/Social Security & Child Support Commissioner?s decisions On line decisions covering many years
UK Statute law database: Excellent government site
Other legal resources
Infolaw Lawfinder: Searchable catalogue of UK legal materials
Law Links: On line legal research site at the University of Kent
Legal resources in the UK & Ireland: Website maintained by Delia Venables
Lexis Nexis: Some free legal resources
Official guidance
DCLG: Homelessness guidance and information
DCLG: Guidance to social landlords on preventing rent possession and evictions
Department of Health: Residential care charges guidance for local authorities
Department of Health: Fairer Charging guidance
Department for Children, Schools and Families: Legislation & guidance on care leavers’ rights
Department of Health: Fair Access to Care Services guidance
DWP: Social security legislation, caselaw and internal guidance
DWP: Decision Makers Guide
DWP: Agents, Appointees, Attorneys and Deputies Guide
DWP: Information for local authority HB/CTB staff
HM Revenue and Customs: Code of Practice on Tax Credit Overpayments (COP26)
HM Revenue and Customs: Tax Credit Guidance Manual for staff
Ministry of Justice: Pre-action protocol for rent arrears cases
Ministry of Justice: Mortgage Arrears Pre Action Protocol
Other advice resources
Dumfries Welfare Rights: Guides and discussion board
DWP: Press releases
EAGA: Insulation & draughtproofing grants
HM Revenue and Customs: National Minimum Wage
HM Revenue and Customs: Tax Credit leaflets
HM Revenue and Customs: Tax Credits info
Ipswich County Court Advice and Representation Service: A successful pro bono advice scheme
Jobslink: Directory of grant making charities
Low Income Tax Reform Group: Advice and campaigns about tax issues affecting people on a low income
NHS: Information and claim forms for help with health costs
Tax Aid: Advice on tax issues for people on low incomes
Write to Them: A website for emailing MPs, MEPs, MSPs, etc
Some local authority welfare rights websites with useful resources
(There are many, here are a few)
Hertfordshire
Glasgow
Newcastle
Manchester
Check here to see if your local council provide welfare rights advice?
Some social policy and research resources
Census 2001 Find information about your areas population
Community Health profiles Health issues in your area
DCLG: Statistics
DCLG: LA housing management practice(includes research on rent arrears and evictions)
DCLG: Local Deprivation Index 2004 (including ward level data)
DCSF: Statistics on line
DWP: Research and Statistics
HM Revenue and Customs:Tax Credit statistics
HM Revenue and Customs: Wealth distribution statistics (depressing reading)
Institute for Fiscal Studies: Research about benefits and tax
Institute for Public Policy Research
New Economics Foundation: Fascinating stuff
New Policy Institute: More reports and analysis about poverty
Office for National Statistics: Nomisweb (labour market statistics
Office for National Statistics: Focus on Social Inequalies
Office for National Statistics: Neighbourhood Statistics
Poverty UK: Indicators about poverty & inequality
Refugee Council: Research and policy
Shelter: Research and statistics
Workhouses: Let’s not forget why we have a welfare state
Some international Welfare Rights links
(please tell me about others)
Adva Centre: Israeli welfare rights group
Combat Poverty Agency: Ireland
Citizens Information Board: Government of Ireland body supporting advice and advocacy
FLAC: Free Legal Advice Centres (another example of the rich tapestry of welfare rights services in Ireland)
Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed
Isle of Man: Social security, yet another jurisdiction
Jersey Citizens Advice: Compare how the system differs, Channel Islands are not part of the UK
National Center for Law and Economic Justice: USA
National Organisation of Social Security Claimant Representatives: USA
National Welfare Rights Network: Australia
Northern Ireland: Dept for Social Development
Povnet: Canada
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law: USA
Social Security Advisory Service: USA
Social Security systems in OECD countries: A detailed explanation and analysis
States of Guernsey: Social Security system in Guernsey
Summaries about benefits systems in many countries: By US Social Security Administration
Workfare Fight: Danish site with many international links
World Law Guide: Information on various countries systems