People applying for Calderdale Council Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction will soon have to use an online system to claim these benefits. The system will use e-forms and an online verification system.
The Council is planning to have this system up and running in the the next few months, and will provide more information closer to the time.
The current system of applying for Housing Benefit and Council Tax reduction through hard copy claim forms will be eliminated, and replaced by online forms for all new claims for these two benefits.
Calderdale public libraries will help people who currently do not have digital skills, to get online. They will also provide free internet access, either through the library computers or through the free Wi-Fi network for other devices. If you need benefits advice and support, this is still available at the Council’s Customer First offices.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Cllr Steve Sweeney, said:
“We appreciate that not everyone claiming will have easy access to a computer or digital device, but we’re working with the libraries service to promote digital skills and offer easy access to internet networks to help people move across to the new system once it is introduced. Plus our Customer First offices are always there to help.”
The new process would save the Council around £250,000 over three years.
Is this going to work for you? Please let Upper Calder Valley Plain Speaker know how this switch to online-only applications for Housing Benefit and Council Tax reduction will affect you. Will it make the process of claiming easier or harder, or won’t it make any difference at all? You can use the comment box, below or email us.
Interesting that the Council, like Job Centres, for example, expect trained librarians to do ever more work. Fortunately, there are volunteers, like myself, who help people with minimal or no computer skills use the computers in most of Calderdale libraries.