7th March 2025

• Raising kids is expensive, and raising kids with additional needs even more so. There is help available, but finding information that is relevant to your individual situation isn’t easy.

  Our information day about financial support, held on 28 February 2025 at Niagara Conference and Leisure Centre, tried to address this.

  It featured a busy information marketplace where parents were able to speak to staff from a range of organisations, such as Citizen’s Advice, the Preparing for Adulthood Team, Family Action or the DWP. These face-to-face conversations with knowledgeable staff are often more efficient than trawling through websites.

  In addition, we ran a programme of workshops throughout the day, delivered by our partners from the DWP, Citizen’s Advice and the Council’s Cost of Living Support Hub. You can download their presentations by clicking on the links below:

  Financial Support Top Tips

  Universal Credit and Employment Support

  Disability Living Allowance (DLA)

  Personal Indendence Payment (PIP)

  Carer’s Allowance and other benefits for carers

  In total, around 110 people – including over 60 parent carers – attended the event. Their feedback showed that we achieved our objective, with 77% saying that they had learned something that would improve their family’s finances (the remaining 23% were unsure – nobody said they hadn’t learnt anything useful).

  “We have had more questions answered than we came with.”

  “We had so much advice and so many of our unanswered questions were covered in depth. Thank you so much”

  “Our day has been so beneficial, from learning about finances to who to contact re. educational advice”