"Save the Children campaigns for children within the UK as well as overseas. A small part of this UK campaigning work is described in the following article"

Around 2.5m households are failing to claim their full benefit entitlement, according to an LSE report launched today by British Gas and its charity partners, including Save the Children.

Children in particular are losing out as the highest amount going unclaimed is the Child Tax Credit. Households are under-claiming their full Child Tax Credit by an average of just under £37 a week, or about £2000 a year. For children living in families in severe and persistent poverty, this amount would make a huge difference.

Save the Children urges Rt Hon John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, to continue the efforts to improve uptake through practical measures and not just by changes to the tax credit system.

The ‘here to HELP’ work undertaken by British Gas, in partnership with Save the Children and other charities, shows that direct ‘benefits checks’ make a real difference. Many of the forms are complex to fill in, so giving families direct benefit advice for their claims is crucial to ensure they receive what they are entitled to.

Colette Marshall, regional director of the UK programme, said, “We need to ensure that vulnerable families are given the help that they need to understand what they are entitled to. Families are missing out on almost half their food budget because they are not claiming the Child Tax Credit and this affects thousands of