Our Welfare Rights Worker works closely with the statutory agencies and receives referrals for older people who are in need of advice and assistance in order to access these benefits. We are able to carry out home visits to housebound older people and assist them to fill in the forms. It cannot be underestimated that the majority of these awards would remain unclaimed without our intervention.

It is well known that a large number of older people do not access benefits to which they are entitled. There can be a number of reasons for this:

• They do not know that the benefit is available
  
  
• They do know, but do not know how to claim
  
  
• They do know, but feel that the forms are too difficult
  
  
• They do not believe they are entitled to the benefit
  
  
• They believe it to be a form of charity