£118m worth of benefits unclaimed in Merton

£118 million of benefits are unclaimed in Merton – new Liberal Democrat MP

The new Liberal Democrat MP for Wimbledon, Paul Kohler, has found that £118 million worth of benefit support payments are going unclaimed in the London Borough of Merton, which covers Wimbledon, Mitcham, Morden, and Raynes Park.

On Wednesday 17 July, Kohler and his Liberal Democrat colleagues proposed that Merton Council identify and contact those not claiming the benefits they are entitled to.

Liberal Democrat councillors say that the Council confirmed it had made no assessment of the scale of unclaimed benefits in the borough.

Research by Policy in Practice, a data analytics company, estimated that £23 billion of benefit support was unclaimed across the UK in 2024. Their assessment was that £118 million was in Merton.

This amounts to 60,000 missed benefits claims each year, including £58 million of Universal Credit, £35 million of Child Benefit, and £8 million of Pension Credit.

Claiming child benefit alone would be worth £1,900 each year to the average family in Merton.

Residents are also missing out on benefits such as Social Broadband and Water Tariffs, the Warm Homes Discount, and a free TV License. Claiming this support would save the average family £670 per year. 

Barriers to claiming the right level of support include a lack of awareness of eligibility criteria, the complexity of the welfare system, and digital exclusion.

In 2023, the Greater London Authority worked with Policy in Practice to trace over 2,300 pensioner households, helping each of them to claim over £3,800 on average. For every £1 invested in the Pension Credit Campaign, a return of £98 was achieved.

Whilst Liberal Democrat, Residents' Association, an independent and even Conservative councillors backed the proposal, Labour councillors voted it down making it clear they would not back other parties' ideas.

Commenting, Paul Kohler MP said:

"Thousands of my constituents are completely unaware that they qualify for certain benefit support. Our proposal was about putting people's money back in their pockets, where it belongs.

"The Greater London Authority's Pension Credit campaign was a huge success, and the Liberal Democrats are urging Merton Council to replicate this approach for all benefits. It's a no-brainer – it costs the Council almost nothing.

"My message to residents is this: don't assume that you're not eligible. Contact Citizens Advice or use an online benefit calculator to check what you're entitled to.

"And my message to local Labour councillors is: don't fail residents simply because you're too proud to accept that sometimes other parties suggest the right thing to do".

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

• A breakdown of Policy in Practice unclaimed benefits analysis for Merton is as follows

• The Liberal Democrat motion is here: https://democracy.merton.gov.uk/documents/s53550/LD%20NST%20Motion%20July%202024.pdf
• Policy in Practice's £23 billion figure is from the Missing Out Report 2024, available here: https://policyinpractice.co.uk/missing-out-2024-23-billion-of-support-is-unclaimed-each-year/
• Information on the Greater London Authority's Pension Credit Campaign is available here: https://policyinpractice.co.uk/how-data-made-london-pensioners-better-off-8million/