This week, Luke Myer MP helped secure more than £5,300 in backdated Pension Credit and Cost of Living payments for a pensioner in Boosbeck, after a mandatory reconsideration was left unresolved for over a year. The resident should have been entitled to Pension Credit from mid-2023, but arrears were not awarded and no clear decision was made on his case.

Working closely with a welfare rights adviser at Redcar & Cleveland Council, Luke and his team challenged the long delay and wrote to the Department for Work and Pensions to push for an urgent review. The DWP agreed to revise the decision and backdate the award.

In total, the resident received £4,733.80 in Pension Credit arrears, plus £599.00 in Cost of Living payments – a £5,332.80 boost that will make a real difference to his household budget. The case shows how Luke can help scrutinise decisions and push for support that people are rightly entitled to, especially when illness or disability changes their circumstances.

Anyone who needs help with Pension Credit, Cost of Living payments or other benefit problems can contact Luke at luke.myer.mp@parliament.uk, visit the Guisborough office, or book a face-to-face appointment at lukemyer.uk/surgeries.