Available Now:

We are proud to announce the birth of the 14th edition of the Big Book of Benefits and Mental Health, with the first batch wending it’s way on to the shelves of our new main distributors at CPAG.

Weighing in at 2 1/2 lbs with all 364 pages in the right order, the
book has been revised thorough all its chapters.

You can get your copy from http://www.cpag.org.uk/bookshop/bbm.   Despite the growth in size, the book is on sale at a very reasonable £20.

Highlights include

• Personal Independence Payment: revised timetable, the story so far and ten top tips and sample forms
• Employment and Support Allowance: updated caselaw and mandatory reconsiderations
• Universal Credit: latest timetables, updates, the great disability gap, and update
• Attendance and Allowance and DLA: more help and sample pages when filling in forms.

New chapters bring together the updated old pages and new ones:

• Benefits, Work and Conditionality: ESA work related activity and sanctions, the Work Programme, surviving as a jobseeker, moving into work and Universal Credit conditionality
• Paying for : changing Housing Benefit, the “bedroom tax”, help with mortgage interest and Universal Credit housing costs element.
• Mental health diagnoses and disability benefits: a brief guide to mental health diagnoses and like difficulties for AA,DLA and PIP with a more detailed look at bi-polar disorder

Alongside all the new sit our usual chapters all revised and updated: Contents, Barriers to Benefits, Steps to Maximum Entitlement, Welfare Reform Changes Summary, The Sickness Route to Benefits (including page by page guides/sample pages to completing ESA50s, supporting letters, medicals), Benefits for Carers, Means-tested benefits in Working Age, Pension Credit, Tax Credits, The Social Fund, Universal Credit, Benefits in Hospital, Challenging Decisions and an easy glance 2014/5 benefits rate chart.

You can see sample pages here: Excerpts-Big-Book-Benefits-Mental-Health-2014-5

Read the Book? Now see it live!

We have courses and we will travel. You can see a selection of training courses on page 360. Or visit our training pages.

Contact tommessere@gmail.com to discuss your requirements

What do you think?

Please let us know what you think, constructive criticism, potential errors and help make the Big Book even better next time. You can e-mail or use the feedback form on page 361

We hope though the new edition will still be be a trusty friend in these very difficult times. Good luck and may you feel the benefit!