Unit helps Hertfordshire residents secure £7.5m in benefits during Covid-19 pandemic

Advisers from Hertfordshire’s Money Advice Unit have helped residents in the county to secure more than £7.5million in extra benefit payments.

The advice unit – which is supported by Hertfordshire County Council – helps residents to navigate their way through the benefits system and to address other financial concerns.

And now it has emerged that in the first three months of the Covid-19 pandemic, the service secured £7.5m in additional payments for residents.

The work of the service was reported to a meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Friday, October 9.

At the meeting it was also reported that at the start of the pandemic the unit moved to a home-based service.

And it was reported that from last month (September) the unit has been working in partnership with Citizens Advice, as part of a 12-month project designed to reach people with debt and benefit problems who present at ‘primary care networks’.