• £1million mark passed by Luke Pollard and his team in recovering overpaid taxes, lost benefits, withheld child support and business support grants
•  Milestone broken in the middle of Coronavirus crisis

One million pounds has been returned to voters in Plymouth in overpaid taxes, lost benefits or withheld support thanks to Luke Pollard and his team of caseworkers. Since being elected in 2017, Luke has been keeping track of the sums of money him and his team have secured for constituents who have asked him for help. The one million pound mark was reached with confirmation of a new business support grant that Luke had helped unlock.

Luke said:

“Plymouth doesn’t get its fair share of funding but every day people are missing out on welfare support or over-paying taxes. As well as standing up for Plymouth in Parliament me and my team work to get back money that is owed in missing welfare support, child maintenance and overpaid taxes. Hitting the one million pound mark in just three years as an MP shows the huge contribution MPs staff – who often get overlooked – make to our city and how much people in Plymouth are missing out on.

 

“Changes in the welfare system have led to an increased in refused and mal-administered benefits and helping those in need has been a priority for me and my team of caseworkers. The Coronavirus crisis has led to a huge influx in people contacting to my office to get help accessing financial support too.

 

“I’m proud that each and every pound returned to people in Plymouth by me and my team not only improves the personal finances of that individual and their family but is more money able to be spent in our local economy too.”

In the first two years the biggest contributor to the one million pound total was in helping people challenge benefit decision especially for disability benefits. However, in the past twelve months the amount secured from challenging incorrect administration and calculations has surged as has the amount of money secured for local businesses in COVID-19 support and help for people incorrectly denied Coronavirus employment support.

Luke and his team have been working remotely since the virus outbreak forced Luke to close his city centre office on Frankfort Gate. The team have been working throughout the pandemic to help people.