§ We continue to seek to promote take-up by issuing a claim form to all retirement pensioners and widows, all unemployed claimants and all sickness benefit claimants, and by co-operating as fully as possible at local level with well organised take-up campaigns mounted by local authorities.
§ As in 1979, the indications are that many of the pensioners with unclaimed entitlement in 1981 were 536W receiving housing rebates or allowances. For them the changes made on the introduction of housing benefit should have subsequently improved the position. Local authorities have been given a formula which will enable them to identify housing benefit claimants who might also have entitlement to supplementary pensions or housing benefit supplement.
§ In December 1982 a new postal claim procedure was introduced for unemployed people to make it easier and more convenient for them to claim; this avoids the need for them to attend a social security office in person. We are setting up pilot schemes to assess the effect of extending the postal claims procedure to pensioners and other groups of claimants.