Welfare Rights Service

We can help you with applying for and renewing disability & health related benefits. DIB offers appointments with a welfare adviser and welfare advice volunteers who can help people fill in the application forms and apply for:

• Personal Independence Payments - ‘PIP’ (People must be 16 to 64 to claim this)
• Disability Living Allowance ‘DLA’ (for children under 16 years of age)
• Employment and Support Allowance - ESA
• Attendance Allowance - ‘AA’
• Carers Allowance (the person being cared for needs to be claiming PIP/DLA/AA)
• Universal Credit 50 (UC50) - (Universal Credit for those with disabilities or health conditions)

Other advice:

Our expert Welfare Rights Advisor, Duncan, can also help you with:

• Mandatory reconsideration (if you are turned down for a benefit). We can advise you on how to set about making an appeal).
• Tribunals (In certain circumstances we may be able to prepare for an appeal and in extreme circumstances go with you to the tribunal).
• Benefit entitlement checks.

We can also signpost you to other agencies and organisations who offer support and advice. We have a large collection of local information available via our website, Facebook page and as written information sheets or leaflets. Please call or email us with any questions and we will do our best to help you.

(Please note: DIB can only help residents of Cheshire East.) 

Making an appointment with our Welfare Rights Advisor:

DIB can be contacted on 01625 501759 to make an appointment to see a Welfare Rights Advisor. You can also email us on reception@dibservices.org.uk

We will make an appointment for you as soon as possible. Most of our appointments are available at our Resource Centre in Macclesfield. We do offer morning appointments on a Wednesday and Thursday at the CVSCE office on Gatefield Street in Crewe. If you live in the South of Cheshire East and would find it easier to attend an appointment in Crewe, please let us know when you make the appointment. Our Welfare Advisor, Duncan, also attends Alsager Community Support on Tuesdays each week. If you live in the Alsager area you can contact Alsager Community Support for an appointment on a Tuesday: 01270 876605 info@alsagercommunitysupport.org.uk (Please note: We do not normally make home visits, but if you will struggle to attend our office, please discuss this with us when you call as we may sometimes be able to make an arrangement for a home visit in exceptional circumstances).

Please let us know of any deadlines that you have for returning forms or disputing a benefits decision. As it can take a few days to fit you in with an advisor, if you have a tight deadline for returning your form or documents, you may need to call the DWP and request an extension to your deadline. 

Please request the benefit form you need before making an appointment with us. You can do this by calling the relevant DWP department helpline.

The following numbers are free to call;

• Attendance Allowance................….………….…......0800 731 0122
• Disability Living Allowance…….…………….…........0800 121 4600
• Carers Allowance………………………………..............0800 731 0297
• Employment Support Allowance…………….….....0800 055 6688 
• Personal Independence Payment................…….0800 917 2222

Before Your Appointment:

Please fill in the first sections of the form before you attend your appointment (personal details, health professionals involved in your treatment and care, prescription medications etc.) This will leave more time for the Advisor to help you with answering the questions on how your disability or health condition affects your daily life (you can make some notes on this before you attend your appointment if this will help you to remember or explain key points). Please bring all your relevant documentation, including your medical evidence, forms of ID and any other relevant information with you when you attend your appointment. If you are making a renewal application please bring along your current award letter, and any review information. 

Please feel free to bring someone with you to the appointment if you need to, this could be a friend or family member, a support worker or an advocate who can help you with expressing yourself, remembering key information or speaking about issues that effect you.

Donating to the DIB:

In order to help us to keep providing help and support to as many people as possible in our community, please consider whether you can make a donation to us when you attend your appointment. Any amount, no matter how small will enable us to keep providing this vital advice service in Cheshire East. We have a list of suggested amounts for each type of benefit we help with, but please do not be put off from contacting us if you cannot afford to donate right now.

• PIP, Child DLA & AA - New Claim: £20 Renewal (the claim is already in payment): £30
• Carers Allowance & UC50 - £10
• Mandatory Reconsiderations or submitting apeal paperwork - £10
• Submitting a full legal appeal to Tribunal (and additional representation and support at Tribunal): £200 (Once the claim is successful).