Age Scotland offers older people support with Attendance Allowance applications

The national charity for older people is running free online workshops to support older people with the application process for Attendance Allowance, a payment for people over State Pension age who have a physical or mental disability which means they need help with personal care or supervision.

The one-hour ‘Attendance Allowance: Completing the form’ workshops aim to make applying for Attendance Allowance less daunting, as the complicated application form can put many potential applicants off.

The sessions are open to anyone completing forms for themselves, or on behalf of family members or friends, but may also be useful for professionals from organisations such as charities, housing associations and councils.

The charity says there is also common misconception that Attendance Allowance needs to be spent on a carer, but eligible older people can spend the money as they choose, to manage the impact of their disability in their own way.

Age Scotland’s Information and Project Development Manager, Heather Smith, said:

“At first glance, the Attendance Allowance form can seem extremely daunting, and feedback we’ve had over the years has made it clear to us that completing it is often a major barrier to those considering an application.

“This new workshop has been designed in an effort to break down this barrier and offer support to those who need it.

“Through these online sessions, we hope to make the application process and form feel more familiar and to help attendees build confidence in their ability to complete it.

“We do this by breaking the form down into manageable sections; describing the criteria used by decision makers; looking at ways to evidence care needs; demonstrating simple and effective ways to answer the questions; and explaining what to do if something goes wrong.”

As part of the charity’s Check in, Cash out campaign, Age Scotland is also urging any older person who is unsure about social security eligibility to call their 0800 12 44 222 helpline for a free entitlement check to make sure they are not missing out on any financial support.

Previous attendees of Age Scotland’s social security workshops said:

“It was clear and explained the details, jargon was explained that is confusing on application forms.”

“It was friendly and put over in a language that was easy to understand, not too many technical words, only where necessary.”

“I was able to access from home which helped in my caring role.”