Lack of knowledge of eligibility for benefits

Lack of awareness of available government benefits covers areas such as social security allowances before retirement, small business loans and government guarantees for business start-up loans, income supplements, educational benefits, unemployment job training, children's and family allowances, free legal assistance, eligibility for paid government jobs, home improvement grants, rent allowances, and medical, optical and dental care allowances.

It has been estimated that every year, thousands of millions of the £68 thousand million on offer from the UK government go unclaimed. In certain categories of benefit, the take-up rate is only one-third of those eligible.