Benefits and grants may help you increase your income. Check if you’re eligible for payments like:
Scottish Child Payment
Carers Allowance Supplement
Disability payments
Pension Credit Full list and benefits calculators at http://bit.ly/BenefitsAndIncome
Granton Information Centre can make sure you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to. To make an appointment telephone 0131 551 2459 or 552 0458, or email: appointments@gic.org.uk
A new campaign which will help people in the Lothians struggling financially get support and access the benefits that they are entitled to has been launched.
The campaign comes as a survey reveals that just over 1 in 5 (21%) Scots living in the Lothians, wouldn’t feel comfortable receiving any type of financial benefits or grants, even if they were eligible, and seeks to address the stigma that people may have around claiming benefits.
The YouGov survey, commissioned by the Scottish Government, also found that people in the Lothians were concerned about being judged by others for receiving benefits, with 17% saying that they were concerned about being judged for receiving Universal Credit, and 10% for receiving Child Tax Credits.
These results indicate that there may be people in the Lothians who are eligible for financial support, whether that be benefits or grants, but aren’t taking the help that’s available because of how others may perceive them for doing so.
The survey comes as the Scottish Government launches a dedicated website – www.moneysupport.scot – to help those experiencing financial difficulties find the support they need.
The Money Support Scotland website contains information and contact details for a range of organisations able to provide information on benefits people could be eligible for, where to go for free and impartial debt advice and how to apply for affordable credit.
The Money Support Scotland campaign is working in partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland and Advice Direct Scotland, which both help people understand what benefits they might be entitled to and how to apply for them.
The Citizens Advice network in Scotland offers free, impartial and confidential advice, with trained advisers able to help explain how people can maximise their income through benefits and grants, cut costs and help manage debt.
Its Money Map tool helps people check which benefits and grants they might be entitled to, as well as eligibility for council tax reductions and support with housing and energy costs. Advice Direct Scotland also provide financial advice and offer a free benefit calculator on their website.
Citizens Advice Scotland Chief Executive Derek Mitchell said: “People shouldn’t feel uncomfortable about accessing the support they are entitled to. That’s how the welfare state works – we all pay in and get support when we need it. That’s what the money is there for, and after the past few years people should be confident about getting the payments they are due.
“The reality is people are facing a perfect storm this winter of rising bills and falling incomes, so maximising your income and getting all the money you are entitled to is really important to help with bills and spending.
“Citizens Advice Scotland is proud to partner with the Scottish Government on this important campaign to ensure people get the help they need this winter. The Citizens Advice network can give people help in a variety of ways and during the pandemic we unlocked around £147 million for people through things like social security payments, employment entitlements and debt reductions.”
There’s a wide range of support available to Scots of all ages from one-off payments to help with the cost of school uniforms to ongoing support with living costs.
To find out where to seek advice on accessing the range of financial support available, visit www.moneysupport.scot.
Councils have been given £10 million to provide grants to tenants who have fallen behind on their rent as a result of the pandemic and are at risk of eviction.
The grants will help tenants who are struggling financially as a direct result of the pandemic, allowing them to reduce or pay off their rent arrears. They will be available to tenants in both the private and social rented sectors.
This is part of a package of measures available to local authorities to prevent homelessness, alongside Discretionary Housing Payments and advice on maximising income. The grants also come on top of the Scottish Government’s £10 million Tenant Hardship Loan Fund.
Housing Secretary Shona Robison said: “We have been doing all we can to support tenants who are struggling as a result of the pandemic, and this latest funding takes our total housing support to almost £39 million.
“These grants will support tenants and landlords who are willing to work together to address rent arrears and agree a repayment plan to ensure the tenant is able to avoid eviction.
“Councils have substantial experience in supporting people who have fallen behind on their rent, and are therefore well placed to work with both tenants and landlords in making use of this grant fund. Anyone who has been financially impacted by the pandemic and needs help to avoid eviction should contact their local authority housing department to discuss their circumstances.”
Councillor Kelly Parry, COSLA Community Wellbeing spokesperson, said: “We are working closely with the Scottish Government to support tenants through the grant fund.
“The pandemic has resulted in some facing a significant loss of income which has resulted in a proportion of these developing rent arrears. The fund is limited and therefore will be targeted at those most at risk of eviction, but will allow local authorities, tenants and landlords to work together to stay in their homes and prevent homelessness.
“Councils have a lead role in supporting a fair and inclusive recovery. Enabling people to sustain their tenancies helps maintain their important community connections.”
Nearly £1.5million will be allocated to Edinburgh to help those in social and private tenancies at risk of becoming homeless.
This share of the Scottish Government’s new £10m Tenant Hardship Grant Fund will further aid the City of Edinburgh Council in preventing evictions as a result of COVID-19 related rent arrears.
The aim of the fund is to provide an additional tool for the Council to help save tenancies, create sustainable housing solutions for individuals and prevent homelessness, alongside its other initiatives in place.
This includes the Council’s Private Rented Service (PRS) Team, which looks to help private renters keep their existing tenancy or to move to either a new private or mid-market rent secure tenancy, and the ‘multi-disciplinary response’ team which helps Council tenants who are struggling to maintain their tenancy or falling into rent arrears.
In addition Edinburgh Help to Rent, which is a service the Council contracts Crisis to deliver, provides rent deposit guarantee bonds.
Under Scottish Government guidelines, local authorities have to allocate the Tenant Hardship Grant Fund by the end of this financial year (March 2022). The Council is currently assessing eligibility criteria in order to support those most at risk.
Councillor Kate Campbell, Convener of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee said: “This money from the Scottish Government comes at a critical time. Between the cut in Universal Credit, the national insurance increase, the end of furlough, rocketing household fuel bills due to the energy crisis, and now the fuel crisis – households are being hit hard.
“We will use this money to help people who have fallen into rent arrears during the pandemic, to help prevent evictions, homelessness and the burden of debt being placed on vulnerable households. This is a lifeline that will help people to stay in their own homes.
“Our Private Rented Sector Team has stopped 427 households from becoming homeless in the last 18 months, while our multi-disciplinary response team is successfully supporting our council tenants who’ve fallen into arrears. This funding from the Scottish Government means we can do even more to prevent families and households becoming homeless.”
Councillor Mandy Watt, Vice Convener of the Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work committee said: “The work being done by the Council and in collaboration with partner organisations like Crisis has already made a big difference to preventing people from becoming homeless. But there is still more that needs to be done with around 6,000 people currently homeless in our Capital.
“As we come out of the Covid-19 pandemic, it could become even more difficult to find suitable accommodation for everybody who needs it. So the work of our prevention teams will be more important than ever.
“We will be working to identify those most at risk without delay because many people are already in financial difficulty and it’s likely to get worse as winter weather and rising energy prices put more strain on household budgets.”
Nina Ballantyne, Citizens Advice Scotland Social Justice spokesperson, said: “The Citizens Advice network saw a real spike in demand for housing-related advice during the pandemic. Our analysis suggests almost 300,000 people in Scotland missed a housing payment last year because they ran out of money before pay day.
“We called for more support for tenants and are delighted to see this fund launch – we’d now encourage people to seek advice on what support is right for them and make use of all the options available.”
Local advice is available from Granton Information Centre. Telephone 0131 552 0458, 0131 551 2459 or email info@gic.org.uk
Funds awarded to maximise benefit take-up
Organisations which will help to maximise the take-up of benefits and household incomes in Scotland have been awarded £600,000.
Twenty-six organisations from across the country received allocations to support hard to reach groups, single parents and people with particular barriers such as mental or physical disabilities to apply for Scottish social security benefits.
Two Edinburgh-based organisations – Big Hearts Community Trust (£11,860) and FAIR (Family Advice Information Resource) (£24,214) – are among the recipients.
The funding is part of the Scottish Government’s Benefit Take-Up Strategy, launched in October 2019.
Announcing the successful applicants at North East Sensory Services, a charity in Aberdeen awarded £42,665 to help people with hearing and sight impairments, Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We believe social security is a human right and an investment in the people of Scotland. That is why everyone who is eligible to apply for benefits should have the support they need.
“Along with local delivery staff, we want third sector organisations to add their expertise and reach out to help those who need it most.
“This funding of £600,000 will be vital to support those who face barriers to access the financial support they are entitled to and increase their incomes. This includes the people with sight or hearing impairments who are supported by North East Sensory Services.
“This funding shows we are determined to do things differently in Scotland and create a new social security system that puts dignity, fairness and respect at its heart.”
Graham Findlay, Chief Executive of North East Sensory Services, said: “The support we provide reaches more than 6,500 blind and deaf people across the North East of Scotland.
“We are delighted that the Scottish Government has recognised the particular difficulties our service users have in finding out about and applying for crucial benefits that help them to live their lives as independently as possible.
“This funding is vital to upskill our staff team with specialist knowledge so we can provide essential support to those who need help navigating the benefits system.”
While no North Edinburgh organisations received income maximisation funding in the latest round, receiving the benefits to which they are entitled can make a huge difference for people who face a daily struggle to get by.
Granton Information Centre’s income maximisation work has seen an incredible £3.3 MILLION put into the pockets of local people over the last financial year – money that they were entitled to but had not been claiming.
“Despite local and national awareness campaigns we still see people every week who are not receiving their full benefit entitlements”, said GIC manager Caroline Pickering.
“There are a number of reasons for this – the benefits system is complicated and there have been a number of significant changes over recent years. It can be confusing and the complicated form-filling – or, worse still, lengthy telephone calls to government agencies – can put people off.
“We encourage clients to persevere, however, as we support them through the process. For some people, getting the money they are entitled to really can make a life-changing difference.”
New research reveals that an anti-poverty scheme championed by Scottish Green MSPs is set to boost the incomes of pregnant women and vulnerable families by over £9 million a year when it is rolled-out across Scotland.
The Scottish Greens’ 2016 election manifesto called for the Healthier Wealthier Children scheme run by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to be replicated in other regions, and since then the party’s social security spokesperson Alison Johnstone has pressed Scottish Ministers to agree to this, and support the roll-out with funding.
Analysis published yesterday details the potential £9.3 million income boost, and shows how ready different health boards are to deliver the scheme, which sees NHS staff referring people to money and welfare rights advisers to access relevant benefits, help with housing and childcare costs, and debt reduction. For example, NHS Lothian has set up Healthy Start and Family Friendly Advice schemes.
However, health boards found to be lacking in clear schemes designed to boost incomes are Ayrshire & Arran, Borders, Dumfries & Galloway, Grampian, Forth Valley, Orkney, Fife, Shetland and Tayside.
Ms Johnstone recently amended the Child Poverty Bill which means local authorities and health boards will soon have a duty to explain what they are doing to boost the incomes of pregnant women and families.
Scottish Greens social security spokesperson Alison Johnstone MSP said: “Poverty experts agree that boosting incomes can have an immediate impact on children’s quality of life. Making this part of NHS services as soon as possible will help thousands of families across Scotland, tackling child poverty and helping reduce health inequalities.
“Our research shows there are pockets of good practice throughout Scotland, but in some places work is needed to build strong links with the midwifery and early years services who come into contact with the women and families most in need.
“Greens are making Scotland fairer by championing ideas such as Healthier Wealthier Children. We’ll continue to keep up the pressure so that all new families get the financial support they’re entitled to.
“It’s over a year since the Scottish Government agreed to roll-out this scheme, and while they have pledged £500,000 towards this, the sooner it happens the better as pregnant mums and families are missing out on £9million they’re entitled to.”
Income Maximisation Report:
https://greens.scot/files/boostingfamilyincomesreport
