Birmingham City Council – Britain's largest local authority – helped more than 3,000 residents to obtain £10m in unclaimed benefits last year.
The total figure included £2.2m in housing benefit and £594,000 in council tax benefit, which was raised by the council's benefit and debt advice teams. ‘As well as directly helping the households in question, the unlocked money offers the local economy a boost too,' said cabinet member for finance, Cllr Randal Brew.
