12bn unclaimed? I wonder why.

Last week I had one of my regular long chats with my wonderful father and, as it often does, what he said got me thinking. Why don't more older and disabled people know about all the things they are entitled to from the State and that they deserve to receive? How many lives could be improved and made easier if people just knew what's out there to help them? Welfare benefits, home helps, aids and appliances, it's all there and available but people often don't know about it or don't realise it applies to them and their own particular circumstances.

My father and my Step-Mother are a case in point. They are now in their 80s and their health is not as good as it once was. They both have trouble walking any distance due to disablin medical conditions and in doing all the things they used to delight in. They have had to slow down and do less than they used to. But, with the right help and support, they can still do what they want, when they want to do it. They can go on leading the happy, enjoyable, fulfilled lives they always have done and, more importantly, be able to continue to do so for many years to come.

A couple of years ago I realised that neither of them knew about one of the main Welfare Benefits they were entitled to and, in my opinion, should have been receiving for several years, namely Attendance Allowance. No-one had ever told them about it, let alone mentioned it, even in passing. Attendance Allowance is a payment made to older people who need a little bit of extra help due to the restrictions placed on them, not only because of their age but also if they have any disabling medical conditions as well. They can, of course, use the money how they want but most people use it to pay for some kind of home care or for aids and adaptations within their homes to make life easier. It's not a huge amount but it's regular and it can help. I told my father and Step-mother about this benefit, they both applied and were awarded it. And what a difference it has made for them. My father has been able to buy himself a motorised scooter which has given him the freedom and independence to go out and do what he wants in the small seaside town where he lives. My Step-mother has been able to pay for a cleaner to come in once a fortnight to deal with the more awkward elements of housework that needed doing and that she was no longer able to tackle as easily as she once was. As far as I am concerned, this is exactly what the benefit is for, to give two older people who have worked hard all their lives the freedom and ability to remain in their own home rather than having to consider selling the house they love and have lived in for so many years and moving into sheltered accommodation or a care home.

But why did it take me to tell them about it? If it wasn't for the fact that I have worked for charities for older and disabled people, giving advice and information on benefits, for many years they might never have found out what they could get. Why didn't someone else such as their GP or their medical specialists give them the information. People find out about the help they may be able to get despite the system and not because of it.

Today I have seen reports about £12bn in unclaimed benefits. I wonder why. Could it be because people don't know or understand what they are entitled to? There must be a way of ensuring that more people find out what there is out there for them and giving them the help they may need with applying for those things. Maybe, instead of having work coaches and employment advisers in doctor's surgeries it would be better and more efficient to have benefits advisers there instead. Professionals who could help patients understand what they could get and, more importantly in my view, assist with the complicated application process. After all, if people were in receipt of the all the help they are entitled to then they may not need to visit their doctor so often and could stay out of hospitals and needing expensive and invasive social care help for longer. It might cost a little more to do this but there would be savings down the line in other areas as a result. Consider the picture as a whole and not the individual elements in isolation. Give people an easy understanding of what they are entitled to, help them apply and get rid of the hurdles stopping people from getting it. It makes sense in the long term.