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New advice service for older people
Published on November 02 2009
A new welfare rights advice service for older people, run by Linkwide and backed by £700,000 from the Scottish Government, could benefit up to 22,000 people.
The Older People's Advice Service (OPAS) will target over 60s in the most deprived parts of Clackmannanshire, West Lothian and North Lanarkshire.
The project aims to combat poverty and financial exclusion by improving take-up of older people's benefits with particular emphasis on clients who have health problems, are housebound, or who live in remote areas.
The new service is based on the success of the Older Persons Advice Project (OPAP), launched in 2005, which has raised more than £2 million in unclaimed benefit income. Glasgow couple Robert and Barbara McCaw received help from OPAP to claim disability benefits that have increased their income by more than £12,000 a year. Advice is delivered face-to-face in the person's own home, engaging with those people that do not access the internet or want to discuss these issues on the telephone.
Housing and Communities Minister, Alex Neil said: "These are challenging economic times for communities across Scotland and older people can frequently feel stressed and isolated.
"It is important in the current economic climate that people claim the benefits and tax credits to which they are entitled.
"Linkwide has a proven track record of delivering expert, impartial advice which will ensure that this funding reaches those most in need."