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The Department for Work and Pensions benefit is designed to help people aged 66 and over – but many don’t apply
Financial expert Martin Lewis has launched a renewed call for pensioners who may be eligible to check whether they’re missing out on thousands of pounds each year through an “underclaimed” state benefit.
Attendance Allowance, aimed at people aged 66 and above living with disabilities or serious health conditions requiring regular care, is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The support offers two rates of payment, either £76.70 or £114.60 a week, depending on the level of help you need, which could add an extra £3,988.40 or £5,959.20 annually, and crucially isn’t subject to a means test.
Significantly, eligibility for Attendance Allowance isn’t determined by income or savings, ensuring all qualifying claimants receive the payment irrespective of their financial situation.
Mr Lewis has said: “So 1.1 million people potentially in the UK—State Pensioners, you have to be of state pension age—are missing out on Attendance Allowance. Now, that 1.1 million number is one from myself and my team, and Policy in Practice have worked out it is not a government figure.
“Now, this is a payment that helps you if you need help—it’s to give you extra money if you need help and support. Crucially, it isn’t means-tested, so they don’t look at how much money you have. It’s pretty binary: you either qualify for it or you don’t qualify for it.”
He warned that people on some benefits aren’t eligible: “I should say, if you’re entitled to PIP (Personal Independence Payment) or Disability Living Allowance, you can’t get both, and they tend to be better for you, so you wouldn’t want it.
“Now, to qualify for this, you need to have supervision for six months. So help or supervision for six months, I should say. Help means help with daily living; supervision means avoiding dangers to yourself. Now, the daily living one, just to give people what this is all about: what does help mean? You don’t actually have to be getting the help, you just need to need help.
“This is from Lord Denning, who was Master of the Rolls back in 1981, if anyone remembers him. He was a quite famous judge at the time. He defined the type of help that is still generally, loosely used as what we’re talking about. It means help with bodily functions, including breathing, hearing, seeing, eating, drinking, walking, sitting, sleeping, getting in or out of bed, dressing, undressing, eliminating waste products, and the like—all of which an ordinary person who is not suffering from any disability does for himself or herself, obviously, although that’s not what was said.”
A range of common medical conditions could entitle individuals to Attendance Allowance, amongst them arthritis, vision impairments, heart conditions, Parkinson’s disease, and respiratory problems such as asthma.
There are two payment tiers available, determined by the level of care needed, with the higher rate providing £114.60 per week and the lower rate offering £76.70.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirms that while the benefit is intended to help cover care costs, claimants are entirely free to spend the money however they see fit.
MSE reader Dawn revealed her extraordinary success story: “Dear Martin, after watching numerous shows I have successfully claimed Attendance Allowance for both of my parents worth £10,598/yr and Pension Credit worth £1,233/yr. This opened doorways to Housing Benefit worth £9,207/yr, Council Tax reduction of £1,534/yr, a free TV licence saving £169/yr and swapping their phone to BT saving £420/yr. They also received rebates of £3,449 for Housing Benefit and £604 for Council Tax. All in all, they are better off by more than £20,000/yr thanks to you and obviously me for completing the necessary applications! Thank you for everything you do.”
How to claim Attendance Allowance:
To qualify for Attendance Allowance, individuals must have reached state pension age, which currently stands at 66. The benefit is available regardless of whether the claimant is already receiving their state pension, holds savings, or remains in paid employment.
The application paperwork can be complicated, though support is on hand from organisations such as Citizens Advice and Age UK, both of which offer guidance throughout the process and can assist with online submissions. To qualify, claimants must have a physical condition, mental health concern, or illness serious enough to necessitate assistance for their own welfare or that of others, with this care having been required for at least six months.
The lower payment rate requires regular supervision or support during daytime or evening periods, while the higher sum is designated for those needing round-the-clock assistance or people approaching end of life.
Applicants must be residing in Great Britain when submitting their claim and have been present in the country for a minimum of two years within the preceding three. Determinations are usually reached by DWP officials based upon the details supplied in the application form, rendering it essential to provide all pertinent information, including a national insurance number, NHS number, prescription and hospital documentation.
The majority of applicants won’t be required to attend a face-to-face assessment, though this possibility does exist.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirms that should it be uncertain how your disability or health condition impacts you, a healthcare professional will carry out an examination. It’s worth noting that you cannot claim Attendance Allowance if you’re already in receipt of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
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This year’s summer was the UK’s hottest on record, according to provisional data, and the Met Office said the season’s mean temperature was made 130 times more likely by the climate crisis.
Record-breaking and back-to-back heatwaves have scorched much of Europe. In England, temperatures peaked at 38.1C (100.1F) at Kew Gardens in London on 13 August, and June had already been confirmed as the country’s hottest since records began in 1884. Scientists have said these heatwaves are only possible because of the climate crisis driven by burning fossil fuels.
The Met Office said an average mean UK temperature of 16.5C made this summer provisionally the warmest on record as well as the warmest season in a series going back to 1884. England, Wales and Northern Ireland broke their respective mean temperature records for summer while Scotland recorded its joint sixth hottest summer.
A study conducted by Met Office scientists showed this summer’s record-breaking heat was made about 130 times more likely because of human-induced climate change. The Met Office’s climate projections indicate that UK summers will continue to become hotter.
The Met Office’s head of climate attribution, Dr Mark McCarthy, said: “The summer of 2026 has been remarkable and is an example of the extremes we can expect to see more frequently as a consequence of human-induced climate change.”
Education, health services and transport all suffered in the heat, with many schools closed and hospital appointments cancelled.
Across Europe, extreme heat has been linked to at least 35,000 excess deaths over the summer.
The hot weather has been coupled with extreme and persistent drought and severe wildfires. England had its driest July on record with only 6.5mm of rainfall, which was 10% of its long-term meteorological average for the month and less than half of the previous record low of 13.4mm set in 1911.
A wildfire near the Sizewell nuclear plant in Suffolk caused “total devastation” to a protected landscape, and in Stourbridge 19 homes were destroyed after multiple fires spread across the West Midlands.
Dr James Pope, a Met Office climate scientist, said: “This summer will also be remembered for how dry it has been, particularly in the south in July. Looking at climate projections for rainfall, this summer fits closely to what we would expect an average summer to look like in the UK under 3C of global warming, as we expect summers to become both hotter and drier in the future.”
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Dr Amy Doherty, who leads the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said: “The conditions we’ve seen this summer have broken UK climate records once again. These records are now breaking with increasing frequency, reflecting the influence of human-induced climate change on the temperatures we’re experiencing in the UK.
“Particularly notable is how much we’ve exceeded the previous summer mean temperature record [16.1C), set just last year. The figures also knock the infamous summer of 1976 down to seventh for average summer mean temperature, with the top five warmest summers all occurring since 2003.”
With August’s Green Man having taken place the previous weekend, attendees were once again reminded of the Powys festival’s annual efforts to cut ties with non-renewable energy sources. Not too far from Bannau Brycheiniog, Bristol’s Forwards Festival has adopted a similar mindset for its two stages this year. Artists on the West Stage generate their own drinking water from green hydrogen technology, while the East Stage uses smart batteries from Patchway energy supplier Greener Power Solutions.
It feels like a timely affair on site, as the grass underfoot appears damaged from a long summer of drought. With Forwards running over three days this year, the weekend will likely see it killed off completely under the feet of thousands of festival-goers arriving to catch the likes of Wet Leg, Little Simz and Self Esteem on the edge of the city.
Today’s lineup, Forwards Presents, is a new addition, and the presence of headliner Lorde – plus, notably, Djo and Audrey Hobert – ensures fans are queueing from the early hours of the morning for barrier spots across both stages.
Those in place by midday are treated to a high-energy performance from Liverpool’s Girl Group, and again another entry on the month’s festival calendar comes to mind, Olivia Rodrigo’s women-led Daisy Chain Fields in California. Girl Group were the ultimate pin-up for everything the event stood for: female empowerment, and looking out for one another. Of their setlist, Rage Song provides the perfect opportunity to promote personal boundaries, while the melancholic Food Shopping induces a lump in the throat.
During a downpour, Grove’s midday set is unfortunately cut short. Nevertheless, the Bristol producer/vocalist still makes the most of their stage time with a fusion of deep bass and class politics. The pure punk energy seeps through the screens either side of the stage as Grove gives two fingers to the monarchy in Big Boots: “The power is ours, just gotta reach out and take it!” they profess, between high kicks.
Luckily, the clouds parted for 20-year-old singer-songwriter Esha Tewari, who went about her business with a gloomy grey sky looming overhead. Over on the West Stage, pop’s new it girl Audrey Hobert donned a bright yellow raincoat on stage accordingly, matching her charismatic flair as she bounced around the stage to the likes of Sue Me, Drive and Chateau, all taken from her 2025 debut Who’s The Clown?
A magnificent sunset precedes Djo’s evening appearance on the East Stage: Joe Keery, plus a band which includes members of psychedelic rockers Post Animal, making their Bristol debut. While Keery may have first found renown as an actor, he’s keen to remind us that his music career isn’t a side-hustle, but a passion which has fed into every moment of his life, whether recording between takes on the Stranger Things set or studying at university in Chicago. (The lyrics of Djo songs Charlie’s Garden and End Of Beginning refer to these moments in colourful detail.) With touring for The Crux album –which details returning to yourself post-heartbreak – finishing this weekend, the set feels like a curtain closing on a chapter of Keery’s career as Djo.
First emerging as an angsty Kiwi teen who was “only as young as the minute is,” Lorde’s profile has steadily grown since the release of 2013 debut album Pure Heroine. Her Bristol debut feels long overdue, arriving in the moody, electronic blue afterglow of her latest album, 2025’s Virgin. Now newly independent and freed from a development deal she signed with Universal Music aged just 12, the Royals singer expressed a hunger for something new earlier this year.
Lorde plus her band and dancers perform on a see-through floor, with an onstage water fountain, with the setlist featuring songs from all four of her albums. The singer also highlights Forwards’ aforementioned sustainability efforts – appropriately for someone whose third album was titled Solar Power – and later in the set, a mass singalong ensues to her verse on Charli XCX’s Girl, So Confusing, with the chorus of Green Light producing a similar eruption amongst the crowds.
Witnessing this particular set on this stage, complete with design, lighting and dancers, feels like witnessing Lorde at the height of her career as a pop artist. Many leaving the site, not yet fans of the star, are likely to be newly converted.
Forwards Presents, Clifton Downs, Bristol, Fri 28 Aug
words EMMA WAY photos GIULIA SPADAFORA
It also boasts a castle that began its life as a motte and bailey built by the Turberville family and was cast in stone in 1272 by Sir Grimbald Paucefote who also secured the official market charter in 1281 from King Edward I.
They set off in cooler conditions in overcast weather to begin with, although it did clear up later on, and as there had been some previous rainfall in that area the dry crumbly ground was a bit softer to walk on as they commenced their hike on a walk entitled ‘Three Pens and a Table’ relating to some of the mountains in the area.
A lane led them to a farm from where they gently climbed through fields and stopped for their morning break utilising ruined stone walls as back rests, whilst enjoying the glorious views, but away in the distance they saw wafts of smoke billowing from the direction of the wildfire at Llangynidr across the valley.
After this the real climb began as they followed the fern lined pathway steeply uphill towards the ridgeway and arriving at the top they overlooked the Glanusk Estate to the south below them which was holding the Green Man Festival. This four-day event which celebrates music, art, film, literature, comedy and science is so called after the mythical Green Man who is a symbol of rebirth and new growth in the spring. This private estate was originally owned by the wealthy ironmaster Sir Joseph Bailey from 1826 who built a mansion house there that had to be demolished in 1952, because of serious damage caused after it was requisitioned for use by the Army.
The ridgeway led them to their first ‘pen’ in the shape of Pen Gloch-y-pibwr or the ‘peak of the piper’s bell’ a prominent rocky spur which made the perfect lunch stop at 674m above sea level. From this vantage point they were able to enjoy the fantastic views of Pen y Fan in the Central Beacons and northwards across the Black Mountains to the Dragon’s Back, Mynydd Llysiau and Mynydd Troed. Their trusty waterproofs got an airing as the first of a few squally showers hit them during their lunch break.
Refreshed they moved on to Pen Allt-mawr at 719m, or 2,359 feet, the tallest of the ‘Pens’ before they headed along the ridgeway with grand views over the western Black Mountains and ahead of them the iconic dark shape of Sugar Loaf Mountain. A short climb led to the last of the ‘Three Pens’ and Pen Cerrig-calch or ‘the top of the limestone rock’ situated at 701m, and still with wonderous views in all directions.
A gentle descent brought them to Table Mountain at 451m which when viewed from afar looks as if it has slid down the mountain and come to a rather lopsided halt and which contains the Iron Age Fort of Crug Hywel, or Hywel’s mound or hillock, that Crickhowell was named after. The stone and earth remains relate to around 500BC and it was defended by ditches, banks and stone ramparts for Celtic tribes to live in, house their livestock and trade from as well as defensive purposes.
Their views overlooked the Usk Valley towards Mynydd Llangatwg or Llangattock, where the old disused quarries and tramroads are situated and it made a most welcome stop for an afternoon break, whilst the more energetic members explored the fort. After which they made their way downhill through a delightful wooded valley where the river was just a trickle after all the hot weather and no rainfall, to return to their start via a farm and a variety of pathways.
You can follow the group on www.penarthramblers.wordpress.com or on Facebook.
Researchers say testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) could trigger atrial fibrillation if levels of the hormone swing drastically.
There were two £100,000 prizes for Wales in the September Premium Bonds draw
Premium Bonds customers from Wales won some big prizes in the September draw. Now is a good time to look over your holdings, as provider NS&I is making some important changes to the rules.
There was a total of 45 prizes worth £10,000 or more for Wales in the latest prize draw. Among the top winnings for the areas were two prizes for £100,000. One of these was won by a person with winning Bond 448KD248895, which they bought in April 2021, when they invested in £25,680 in Bonds.
They had a total of £49,025 in Bonds going into the September draw. The maximum you can hold in Premium Bonds is £50,000.
The other £100,000 went to a Bond holder from the South East Wales area, with lucky Bond number 416KT752797. They purchased their winning Bond over five years ago, back in October 2020, when they bought a total of £5,125. Their total holdings were £6,025 going into the September draw.
Each £1 Bond that goes into the monthly prize draw has the same chances of being paired with a prize. The best way to increase your chances of winning a prizes it to buy more Bonds.
Top Premium Bonds prizes for Wales
Below is the full list of prizes for £10,000 or more in the September draw for the different regions of Wales:
Mid And South West Wales
- £100,000 prize – winning Bond 448KD248895
- £50,000 prize – winning Bond 472QN083381
- £50,000 prize – winning Bond 296MR329220
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 633VQ030089
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 92WX810721
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 452EL575466
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 652FC671410
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 668ML919053
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 121ZT491827
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 254RE203845
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 448SW129350
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 371DX825483
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 474YX372912
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 314QH468873.
North Wales
- £25,000 – winning Bond 602LK123657
- £10,000 – winning Bond 661RY558040
- £10,000 – winning Bond 460RD329060
- £10,000 – winning Bond 320QK633675
- £10,000 – winning Bond 342RP746965
- £10,000 – winning Bond 631JQ074307
- £10,000 – winning Bond 200VS278924
- £10,000 – winning Bond 492SY370463
- £10,000 – winning Bond 443RD952718
- £10,000 – winning Bond 180DM888738
- £10,000 – winning Bond 78CA287675
- £10,000 – winning Bond 280GZ503436
- £10,000 – winning Bond 349NW673376.
South East Wales
- £100,000 prize – winning Bond 416KT752797
- £50,000 prize – winning Bond 331HK777114
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 50PD775342
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 678AF313484
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 126TL458492
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 407XA002817
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 539VE323802
- £25,000 prize – winning Bond 357RM777240
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 265NV589715
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 193FC049982
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 575QP573732
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 346RM731133
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 306YN118379
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 617VK966266
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 397VN676582
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 247WX048716
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 604PC159769
- £10,000 prize – winning Bond 649QZ949972.
Key changes to Premium Bonds rules
Bond holders now have a better chance of winning a prize as NS&I has changed the rules for the scheme. From the September draw, the odds of each £1 being paired with a prize have improved, up from 22,000 to one to 21,000 to one.
The prize fund rate has also gone up, from the previous 3.8 per cent to 4.35 per cent. This is the second time this year that NS&I has improved prospects for customers.
From the July draw, the provider increased the chances of a win from 23,000 to one to 22,000 to one. The savings giant also increased the prize fund rate from July, up from 3.3 per cent to 3.3 per cent to 3.8 per cent.
This was a happy reverse in fortune, after the provider reduced both the odds of winning and the prize fund rate back in April.
A crash shut the M4 eastbound late on Monday evening
Emergency services were called to the scene of a crash involving one car on the M4 eastbound at Junction 43(Image: Traffic Wales)
A woman has been arrested after emergency services shut the M4 eastbound on Monday evening following a crash.
Emergency services were called to the scene of a crash involving one car on the M4 eastbound at junction 43 at around 11.30pm on Monday. The motorway was closed between junction 44 at Llansamlet and junction 43 at Neath and Llandarcy.
A woman was arrested on suspicion of failing to provide a specimen for analysis following the crash. The road reopened at around 4am.
A spokesperson for South Wales Police said: “Officers were called to a report of a single car collision on the M4 eastbound by junction 43 at 11.31pm yesterday.
“A woman in her 30s from Llandarcy was arrested on suspicion of failing to provide a specimen for analysis.”
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The court heard Davies admits killing his wife but denies having an intention to kill or cause really serious harm.
Mr Cotter said: “The first issue is whether when he killed her, his intention was to kill her or cause her really serious bodily harm.
“If the prosecution fails to prove an intention to kill or cause serious bodily harm, then the defendant would only be guilty of manslaughter.
“The defendant has already entered a guilty plea to manslaughter, that has not been accepted by the prosecution.
“However, even if the prosecution prove the defendant intended to kill or cause really serious harm to Tracey Davies so that Michael Davies is guilty of murder, there is a further issue you will need to consider. Diminished responsibility.
“This may arise where the jury has concluded the defendant is guilty of murder. In that scenario it’s open to the defendant to call medical evidence to seek to establish at the time of the murder, he was labouring under a recognised medical condition which substantially impaired his ability to understand the nature of his conduct or exercise self control or rational judgement, and such an impairment provides an explanation for that murder.
“In that scenario, murder is reduced to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.”
With two-thirds of Britons now taking vitamin supplements in a bid to boost their health, it is little surprise that more options than ever are springing up on shelves.