GRANTON Information Centre welfare rights advisers Elvira and Pui-Kei will be delivering an advice and information session tomorrow at Royston Wardieburn Community Centre.
Come along if you have any questions about debt/benefits or housing!
Kinship carers are being urged to check if they could be entitled to the Scottish Child Payment, after eligibility was expanded to include more of them last year.
The call comes at the start of Scottish Kinship Care Week, which celebrates the role of extended family or friends who care for children when they cannot remain with their birth parents.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met with a group of kinship carers yesterday at an annual big breakfast hosted by the Big Hearts Community Trust at Tynecastle Park to thank them and highlight the extra support available via the Scottish Child Payment and other Scottish social security benefits.
Big Hearts’ Kinship Care programme was launched in 2015 and offers a range of support for young people and their carers, including after school clubs, coffee mornings, and wellbeing advice.
The First Minister said: “We owe kinship carers an enormous debt of gratitude for the role they play in providing loving and secure homes for children and young people, and it’s vital they receive every penny of support they’re entitled to.
“In line with our commitment to tackling child poverty, we increased the Scottish Child Payment to £25 a week per eligible child last year, and expanded the eligibility criteria to include more kinship carers.
“We want to ensure everyone gets the financial support they are entitled to, so I’d encourage carers to check whether they’re entitled to receive the Scottish Child Payment and any other Scottish Government benefits.
“In addition to the fantastic support provided by charities like Big Hearts, there are a range of events for kinship carers taking place across the country this week, and free advice and guidance is also available from the Kinship Care Advice Service for Scotland website.”
Craig Wilson, Big Hearts’ General Manager said: “It was fantastic to welcome Scotland’s First Minister to Tynecastle Park for the start of Scottish Kinship Care Week.
“We are so proud to work with so many amazing kinship care families and for many years we’ve strived to raise the profile of kinship carers and highlight the support they can and should receive.
“There’s no doubt that today adds to that and we want kinship carers to know there is always a warm and welcoming place for them here at Big Hearts.”
There were 184,000 children and young people getting £25 per week in Scottish Child Payment by the end of 2022, latest statistics show.
The figure includes 78,000 who have received it since the payment was extended to include children aged between six and 16 in November.
Social Security Scotland had provided decisions to just over half the people who applied on the extension of the payment by the end of 2022.
Decisions for the majority of people who applied or added additional children to their award between 14 November and 31 December 2022 have now been issued and this will be reported on in the next round of statistics.
Scottish Child Payment was announced in the summer of 2019, with the first payments being made in February 2021.
Since then it has risen from £10 per week per child to £25 per week per child – a 150% increase in value.
It means that the amount paid out to children totals £155 million until the end of last year.
Ahead of extending Scottish Child Payment to under-16s, local authorities also made more than 1.1 million Bridging Payments across 2021 and 2022 to the families of school age children worth a total of £169.3 million.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: ““These figures demonstrate our commitment to tackling child poverty and the significant financial support we have made available to meet that aim.
“This is just a snapshot of all the work being done since Scottish Child Payment was extended and increased until the end of 2022.
“We’ve since processed tens of thousands more applications.
“This represents remarkable progress in the delivery of the most ambitious child poverty reduction measure in the UK.
“That increased payment of £1,300 per child per year is now benefitting families across Scotland.
“We want to make sure that everyone gets the help available to them. Parents or carers who are on universal credit, tax credits or other benefits and who have children under 16 should check through Social Security Scotland if they are eligible.”
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS TODAY
Help with heating costs is on its way to around 400,000 people on low incomes through a new Scottish Government benefit, with the first payments processed this week.
More than £20m will be paid out over the course of February and March in Winter Heating Payments.
Winter Heating Payment replaces the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Cold Weather Payment. Unlike the DWP benefit it replaces, Winter Heating Payment is not paid only to people when there is a sustained period of cold weather in a specific location, but is a reliable annual £50 payment.
Those eligible for Winter Heating Payment will receive it automatically, with no need to apply. It is paid through Social Security Scotland and people will get a letter to let them know they are eligible.
Minister for Social Security Scotland Ben Macpherson said: “Our new Winter Heating Payment is the thirteenth Scottish Government benefit. This year it will provide 400,000 people most in need with a reliable, automatic £50 payment to help towards their heating costs.
“The Payment will reach significantly more people than the benefit it has replaced. On average only 185,000 people received the equivalent Cold Weather Payments from the UK Government over the last seven years – whereas we will pay everyone eligible every year.
“The Scottish Government is investing around £20 million per year compared with an average of £8.3 million annually paid out through Cold Weather Payment. We will also uprate the next Winter Heating Payment by 10.1%, to £55.05.”
More than £130 million has been distributed to thousands of families with disabled children since the launch of a Scottish Government benefit.
The latest official figures show the families of over 54,000 children and young people were receiving Child Disability Payment in December last year.
Just over 13,000 of these are from new applications. More than 41,000 children and young people have had their award transferred from Disability Living Allowance for children from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to Child Disability Payment.
Social Security Scotland are on course to have transferred the awards of almost everyone still receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for Children in Scotland by Spring.
Child Disability Payment helps cover the extra costs of caring for a disabled or terminally ill child or young person.
Minister for Social Security Ben Macpherson said: “Child Disability Payment helps parents to support their children and assists young people to live their lives to the fullest. Therefore, it is welcome news that so far more than £130 million in Child Disability Payments has been distributed to thousands of families with disabled children, to help cover extra costs.
“New applications are increasing, and Social Security Scotland is working to process these as quickly as they can, while seeking to ensure that right decisions are made first time. We are only being asked to look again at decisions in a very small proportion of cases.
“The process of transferring people’s awards from the DWP’s DLA for children to our Child Disability Payment is also continuing at pace, and on course to be almost entirely complete in the Spring.
“The Scottish social security system has been designed in partnership with those who have experience of applying for benefits previously. This has helped us to build a system that is easier to access, and where people are treated with dignity, fairness and respect.
“I urge anyone who thinks they, their child or someone they know may be eligible for Scottish Government benefits to check and apply.”
Jamee Killin, from Edinburgh, applied for Child Disability Payment for her daughter who has ADHD. She said: “The process of applying was straightforward and the staff were extremely helpful.
“I have already recommended it to people and would urge anyone who thinks they might be eligible to apply.”
Do you have a child born between 1 March 2017 and 28 February 2018? You may be eligible for the Best Start Grant School Age Payment.
It can be used for books, bags, clothes and equipment.
The payment is made automatically to people who receive Scottish Child Payment.
Your child does not have to take up a place at school to get the payment.
To check if you’re eligible and apply by 28 February, visit bit.ly/School-Age-Payment
Plans for the introduction of further Scottish Government benefits have been published as part of an updated Social Security Programme Business Case.
This confirms that Carer Support Payment will be the next payment to be introduced. Social Security Scotland will begin a pilot by the end of this year followed by national launch in spring 2024.
A consultation on this new payment ran between February and May 2022 and the response to this is due to be published in the coming weeks.
Carer Support Payment will replace the Carer’s Allowance for new applications.
The Scottish Government is continuing to work with the Department for Work and Pensions to develop processes that will ensure those already in receipt of Carer’s Allowance will have their award transferred automatically to Social Security Scotland – so that people will not need to reapply.
Carer Support Payment will be the 14th benefit to be introduced since the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 was unanimously approved by the Scottish Parliament.
Ben Macpherson, Minister for Social Security said: ““Introducing 14 new payments in just over five years is no mean feat. We have built this social security system from scratch, working with the people who will use it to make sure that we provide an improved experience and one that treats people with dignity, fairness and respect.
“Our delivery progressed despite a global pandemic. This was recognised by Audit Scotland who commended us for continuing to ‘successfully deliver new and complex social security benefits in challenging circumstances’.
“We are already providing money that is making a real difference for families on low incomes, people who need help paying for a funeral, disabled people, carers, young people entering the workplace and to help people heat their homes. The people accessing this service are happy with it too – with 89% telling us their experience has been ‘good’ or ‘very good’.
“Our success to date has not made us complacent. Establishing new payments and transferring awards in a safe and secure way continues to be our priority. We have gained a significant amount of experience and knowledge through our delivery to date. This is all reflected in the timetable we have announced.
“I look forward to these payments being up and running and seeing the reach of our new social security system going even further – investing £7.3 billion by 2027-28 supporting 2 million people each year.”
Parents and guardians who get qualifying benefits or tax credits and who have a child born between 1 March 2017 and 28 February 2018 are being urged to check whether they should apply for Best Start Grant School Age Payment as this year’s deadline approaches.
Applications for the one-off payment of £267.65 per child, which can be used for books, bags, clothes and equipment for school, have to be submitted by midnight on the 28 February closing date.
The Scottish Government introduced automatic payments for Early Learning Payment and School Age Payment in November 2022. Parents and guardians who get Scottish Child Payment will get School Age Payment automatically when their child reaches eligibility and within the School Age Payment window of 1 June to 28 February.
There are some people who don’t qualify for Scottish Child Payment that could be eligible for School Age Payment, including those who get housing benefit.
There may be others who choose not to apply for Scottish Child Payment who can still apply for School Age Payment. There are also parents and guardians who opted out of automatic payments so they could have more control around when they receive this money. All of these people are being urged to check if they could be due School Age Payment and to apply if they do.
Statistics last week revealed that more than £105.8 million has been paid by Social Security Scotland in the Best Start group of payments – which also includes Pregnancy and Baby Payment and Early Learning Payment.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “If you have a child in the family aged five, or who turns five this month, then you could be eligible for School Age Payment.
“We are making it easier than ever to apply but we still ask people to check and make sure they know what they are entitled to.
“The Best Start Grant payments, which include School Age Payment, were the first three of our five family payments to be introduced.
“To date we’ve provided more than £100 million across these three payments.
“Making these payments automatic, where we have the information to do so, will enable us to get this money to families at key stages in their child’s development and when they may face additional costs.”
People are being encouraged to share their views on how a Scottish Government disability benefit supports their mobility needs.
The consultation on eligibility for the Adult Disability Payment mobility element will gather evidence to feed into a wider independent review. Ministers committed to this review to ensure the payment meets people’s needs now and in the future.
The mobility element, one of two components to the payment, supports people who have difficulties moving around or planning and following journeys.
Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “Adult Disability Payment was developed in close co-operation with disabled people as part of our commitment to ensure Scotland’s social security system is delivered with dignity, fairness and respect.
“We want to hear a broad range of views on the eligibility criteria for the mobility element of Adult Disability Payment, particularly from people who are in receipt of disability benefits.
“We have already improved the application process for disability payments, while maintaining our commitment to safely and securely transferring people’s payments from the UK Government. We’d like to know about people’s experiences of this improved system.
“To anyone who receives Adult Disability Payment, or has views on how it is delivered, I would encourage you to respond to our consultation.”
