benefits – Page 7 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

One million families claiming tax credits to receive Cost of Living Payment from 2 May

One million eligible claimant families receiving tax credits, and no other means-tested benefits, will get the first 2023-24 Cost of Living Payment from Tuesday 2 May 2023, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed.

The £301 UK Government payment will be paid automatically into most customers’ bank accounts between Tuesday 2 and Tuesday 9 May 2023 across the United Kingdom. Only eligible families who receive tax credits and no other means-tested benefits will receive the payment from HMRC.

This is the first of three payments totalling up to £900 for those eligible in 2023-24.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, John Glen, said: “Higher prices make life difficult for everyone, which is why our priority is to halve inflation this year.

“But we are also going further to support those struggling most, with a total package of support worth an average of £3,300 per household this year and next – including up to £900 in direct cash payments starting next month for families receiving tax credits.”

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, said: “The £301 Cost of Living Payment will deliver vital financial help to eligible tax credit customers across the UK. Further support will be paid in autumn 2023 and spring 2024 to those entitled to payment.

“HMRC will pay eligible tax credit customers automatically and with no action required from the customer, to make this as simple and helpful as it can possibly be.”

The payment will show as ‘HMRC COLS’ in customers’ bank and building society accounts, so that they know the money is cost of living support.

For tax credit-only customers to be eligible for the £301 Cost of Living Payment, they must have received a payment of tax credits in respect of any day in the period 26 January to 25 February 2023, or later be found to have been entitled to a payment for this period.

Eligible customers do not need to apply or contact HMRC to receive the payment.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently announced that eligible households receiving DWP means-tested benefits will receive their first 2023-24 payment between Tuesday 25 April and Wednesday 17 May. This includes tax credit claimants who also receive other income-related benefits from DWP.

The payments are part of a package of wider UK Government support announced to tackle the cost of living in 2023-24, including:

· a further £300 Cost of Living Payment for eligible families in autumn 2023, with a payment of £299 in Spring 2024

· a £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment for eligible disabled people to be paid during summer 2023

· a £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment to be paid during winter 2023-24.

This means that the most vulnerable can receive up to £1,350 in direct payments over the coming financial year if eligible.

Including both DWP and HMRC payments, the latest Cost of Living Payment will see more than 8 million households across the UK receive their £301 cash boost by mid-May 2023.

The UK Government is offering help for households. Customers should check GOV.UK to find out what support they could be eligible for.

Increase in social security benefits from 1st April

Additional support for people who need it most

Twelve Scottish Government benefits including Carer’s Allowance Supplement and Best Start Grants will be increased by 10.1% on 1 April, backed by investment of around £430 million.

The Scottish Child Payment was increased by 150% in 2022 to £25 per eligible child per week.

A total of 13 Scottish Government benefits are now being delivered through Social Security Scotland, seven of which are only available in Scotland.

Social Security Minister Ben Macpherson said: “We are committing £5.2 billion for social security benefits in 2023-24, providing support to more than one million people in Scotland. This is £776 million above the level of funding we are forecast to receive from the UK Government for social security through Block Grant Adjustments.

“The choices we have taken in our Budget represent a significant investment in people and are key to our national mission to tackle child poverty. They will help low-income families with their living costs, support people to heat their homes in winter, and enable disabled people to live full and independent lives. This is money that will go directly to people who need it the most.”

12 Scottish Government benefits will be increased by 10.1% on 1 April 2023. These are:

Child Winter Hearing Assistance
Carer’s Allowance Supplement
Young Carer Grant
Job Start Payment
Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment
Best Start Grant School Age Payment
Adult Disability Payment
Child Disability Payment
Best Start Foods
Best Start Grant Pregnancy & Baby Payment
Funeral Support Payment
Winter Heating Payment

Scottish Child Payment was increased to £25 per eligible child per week in November 2022. This represented a 150% increase in eight months.

GIC advice and information session at Royston Wardieburn tomorrow

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!

Big Hearts: Support for kinship carers

Kinship carers urged to check Scottish Child Payment eligibility

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.”

184,000 getting £25 Scottish Child Payment

£155 million in payments since introduction in February 2021

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.”

Social Security Scotland: Best Start Grant – School Age Payment

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS TODAY

New annual Winter Heating Payment begins

£20m to help 400,000 Scots with heating costs

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.”

£130m for disabled children since launch of benefit

Minister urges those eligible to apply

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.”