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WISHART HIGHLIGHTS MILLIONS IN BENEFITS GOING UNCLAIMED
The Scottish National Party’s Mr Pete Wishart MP, Member of Parliament for Perth & North Perthshire, has highlighted the fact that hundreds of millions of pounds of Housing and Council Tax Benefit are going unclaimed in Scotland. Speaking today (Thursday) Mr Wishart said: “Improving take-up rates for income related benefits would benefit low-income families and would also enable them to be more active in the local economy. “It is particularly important as we approach the implementation of the Welfare Reform Act 2012, that no-one misses out on transitional support they may be entitled to. “Research by Children 1st has revealed that the total loss of Housing and Council Tax Benefit to Scotland is between £248 - 443million. "That is a huge amount of money that could be of real help to those who are struggling to make ends meet in these difficult times. “It is estimated that between 15,200 –24,000 couples with children in Scotland are losing out on an average of £15 a week or £780 a year in unclaimed Council Tax Benefit. “Given those figures, I am sure that there are many hard-pressed families in Perth & North Perthshire who are not getting the support they are entitled to and I would urge anyone who thinks they might be missing out to get their entitlement checked out.”
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