Money Smart
Support Type:
Need supported:
- Financial Inclusion
Aim/Purpose:
Our specialist welfare rights and debt advisers provide free, impartial and confidential advice and support to ensure you receive your full, legal requirement to benefits and help with debt options. Our services include: Welfare Rights advice: Benefit checks, confirming benefit entitlement, help to make benefit claims, help to dispute benefit decisions and sanctions and provide appeal representation at tribunals. Money and Debt Advice: Advice and support with debts, negotiating affordable repayment plans and help with insolvency options such as bankruptcy, Budgeting advice, Help to access crisis support and other grants, help with banking, digital support and under occupation charges.
Suitability criteria:
- All genders
- All ages
Exclusions:
Our services are available to the following priority groups:
- All North Ayrshire Council tenants
- Non-council tenants (ie Housing association tenants, those living in private lets or owner occupiers) who:
- Are engaged with and referred by Health and Social Care Partnership services, NHS, North Ayrshire Council and third sector agencies – eg foodbanks, Citrus or Women’s Aid
- Have dependent children or are pregnant
- Have a disability
- Are carers
- Are from minority ethnic backgrounds
For North Ayrshire residents who do not fall into the above priority groups we work with a range of partners within North Ayrshire who also provide Welfare Rights and Debt Advice and can make a referral to one of these partners.
Assessment/referral process:
- Any agency, Self-referral
Accessing our service: Call 01294 310000 (option 1) email moneysmart@north-ayrshire.gov.uk Visit www.nahscp.org and complete the online Money Smart contact form