In 2005 we started work on a project to help housing professionals give accurate advice and help with Housing Benefit matters to their customers. We were aware of the lack of accessible updated information for housing staff, who had little time to wade through material designed for benefits specialists. And we were concerned that this meant tenants could easily miss out on the Housing Benefit they are entitled to- sometimes even risking their tenancy- because of the complexities of the benefit system and the mistakes made by HB Offices.

So hbnotes was born. A web-based information system with bite-sized chunks of readable information and useful tools designed around the Housing Benefit issues that housing professionals come across regularly.

Over 170 housing, advice and voluntary organisations now subscribe to hbnotes, with over approx 10,000 staff members accessing the site.

The website includes links to regulations and relevant caselaw, our ever popular standard letters, and tips on reducing arrears. Our monthly newsletter keeps users up to date with changes, hints and tips. And our online advice service is an enormous help to our users who can contact us for advice on any aspect of Housing Benefit. We also run training as well as consultancy and representation at appeals.
Our aim is to provide not just information but the confidence and tools to use it.

Last year we worked with the DWP and delivered over 50 Working Benefits Workshops on their behalf across the country.

This year we are concentrating on the Welfare Reform agenda and the development of a new site – ucnotes!

So who are we?

We are a small team of hard working individuals:

Julia Service: Julia has been involved in welfare benefits since 1988, with over 20 years experience in the housing sector. Having worked initially as a housing benefit assessor she moved into housing management before becoming a benefits adviser and trainer. These roles have found her working for: Westminster City Council; Tower Hamlets; William Sutton Trust; Preston City Council; Citizens Advice Bureau; Places for People and The Housing Training Company. Julia is married with two daughters and enjoys accompanying them to music gigs. Her current favourite is The Wombats.

Glenys Harriman: Glenys worked at Places for People too, where she met Julia: both were working as welfare benefits co-ordinators. Before this she worked as deputy manager at Otley Citizens Advice Bureau, welfare benefits adviser at Heywood CAB, and volunteer at Rochdale and Leeds CABx. She started out as a secondary school teacher: remedial maths. Glenys has two children in their twenties (one of each) and spends any spare time gardening. She is married to............

Ron Harriman: Ron is our ‘techie’, being a website wizz. Ron also runs Dev Ltd, a company providing choice based lettings systems, web hosting, and his new project ‘Locate’ a web-based customer service system for housing associations, councils, and private landlords. He is on hand to sort out technical glitches and is working hard on developing our new site: ucnotes. Ron’s greatest love is his BMW motorbike.

Val Aldridge: Val joined us in 2009 to manage our admin and generally make us more organised. It’s an uphill battle but she does very well. Val has worked in the NHS, developing computer systems as well as managing their admin, and has worked for Scope, Action for Children, and Bradford Council for Voluntary Services.. She is also a keen gardener but unlike Glenys knows the difference between weeds and flowers.