Published: Tuesday, 7th April, 2009 2:30pm

Hike in benefits claims and queries

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MORE people in Reading are claiming housing and council tax benefit as the recession worsens.

There has been a 6.6% rise in the number of council tax benefit claims from April 1 2008 to March this year, with the overall caseload of housing and council tax benefit claims rising from 12,074 in April 2008 to 12,999 in March 2009.

Reading Borough Council figures show the steepest increase over the last two months, while telephone queries about benefit shot up from 2,349 in December to 3,222 in January.

The figures were unearthed by the Lib Dems, and their leader Cllr Gareth Epps said: "These figures are understandable in the current economic circumstances but nevertheless are a cause for concern. They highlight increasing numbers of local residents turning to the Council for financial support as they face pressures on their pockets."

Council leader Jo Lovelock said: "We continue to receive on average the same number of new claims to benefit on a monthly basis although this has increased over the last month indicating that the economic downturn has started to feed through."

She said the budget for the benefit service for 2009/10 is £822,500 and added: "Managers are monitoring workload to ensure the service is maintained and have not, at this stage, flagged up a need for an increase in the budget over and above the inflation costs built into that figure."

Anyone wanting to calculate how much they could be eligible for in benefits can use the calculator available here: tinyurl.com/c7a5a5

Or for more information on benefits, call 0118 939 0824 or visit: ">www.reading.gov.uk/adviceandbenefits

* The council also provides information and advice on beating the credit crunch through maximising income, setting budgets, prioritising debts, dealing with advice services and managing money efficiently.

Visit Or">www.reading.gov.uk/beatthecrunch

Or call Reading Welfare Rights on 0118 955 1070 or the Citizens Advice Bureau on 0845 071 6379.

For more stories and your full round up of what's happening in Reading you can purchase the e-edition of the Reading Chronicle click here.