Missing out: Over £1 billion of support is unclaimed in North East England each year

Policy in Practice estimates the amount of unclaimed income related benefits and social tariffs in Great Britain for 2024 is £24 billion a year.

Regionally, the spread of eligibility, accessibility and need varies.

The North East of England is missing out on an estimated £1.33 billion in unclaimed support annually across over 752,000 households.

We find that £501 per person per year is unclaimed in support in the North East.

This is 40% higher than the £358 unclaimed per person nationally.

Maximising income through the take up of support is essential to help households during the cost of living crisis to improve health and boost local economies.

Designing and deploying an effective safety net to support struggling families demands an accurate understanding of the level of unclaimed benefits and the groups who are not claiming.

This report recommends that regional and local government in the North East use data analytics to proactively identify and reach vulnerable residents we know are not claiming their full benefits entitlements.

We also recommend a regional approach to localised benefits schemes to provide regional equity, reduce complexity and support much needed administrative savings for local government.

Commissioned by the North East Child Poverty Commission and funded by Karbon Homes this report examines the effectiveness of the national and local social security system, its reach and, crucially, the gaps created by under claimed benefits across North East England.