Benefits to support people with heating costs over the winter are paid automatically to those who are eligible during the qualifying week.
People will get a letter to confirm they are entitled to the payment and will be paid automatically.
Read more at http://bit.ly/WinterHeatingBenefits2425
Two benefits providing extra money to families with the cost of healthy food and starting school, are turning five years old.
Best Start Grant School Age Payment supports families with a one-off payment of £314.45 to help cover the cost of starting primary school, and has provided £33.5 million to over 100,000 parents and carers.
Best Start Foods worth up to £42.40 every four weeks to help families purchase healthy foods and has given £57.1 million to over 86,000 parents and carers.
Since launching in 2019, a number of improvements have been introduced to ensure more people have access to the support they need.
Best Start Grant School Age Payment is now paid automatically to eligible people getting Scottish Child Payment without the need to apply. According to latest statistics, 42,535 automatic awards were made for School Age Payment between Dec 2022 and June 2024, meaning less paperwork for tens of thousands of families.
The removal of income limits for Best Start Foods has increased access to vital financial support to help more families afford healthy foods for their children.
On the anniversary of these payments Social Security Scotland are urging families to check if they are eligible and spend money available on their Best Start Food card.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Eradicating child poverty is the most important priority for our government, and we are committed to making sure every child in Scotland has the best start in life.
“We have built a different social security system, one grounded in dignity, fairness, and respect. Part of this is making it as straightforward as possible for people to access the financial support that people are entitled to.
“The introduction of automatic payments and removal of income limits for Best Start Foods means we’re getting more money to families when they need it most.
“As families continue dealing with the cost-of-living crisis, I am urging everyone to check if they are eligible and make sure they are getting the money they need to help cover the costs of starting school and buying healthy food.”
Chief Executive, One Parent Families Scotland Satwat Rehman said: “ We are delighted to recognise the 5-year anniversary of the excellent Best Start Foods and Best Start Grant programmes.
“These initiatives have been instrumental in supporting families across Scotland, helping to ensure that every child has access to nutritious food and essential early years support.
“We look forward to the Scottish Government continuing this vital work and making a positive difference in the lives of many more families.”
A parent in receipt of Best Start Early Payment Grant said: “The grant made all the difference when she was starting nursery as I was really worried about how I was going to afford things for her.
“She loved her new clothes and bag. It was so good being able to get things for her and not be worried about how I was going to pay for them. “
Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods: high level statistics to 30 June 2024 Social Security Scotland – Over £25 million paid to Scottish carers in June
To be eligible for some of our payments you need to already be getting a qualifying tax credit or benefit.
Use one of these handy independent benefit calculators to check all the financial support that may be available to you:
A cancer charity has joined forces with the Scottish Government to urge people with cancer to check if they could be eligible for disability benefits.
Cancer Card Scotland founder Jen Hardy MBE and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, want people with cancer to ensure they’re getting the money they could be entitled to.
Both Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment are available in Scotland to help cover the extra costs of being disabled, having a long-term health condition or being terminally ill.
Importantly, Social Security Scotland fast tracks applications for disability payments from people who are terminally ill. A decision can take as little as 48 hours.
For people with cancer, who are applying under the standard rules, there is a qualifying period before they can be eligible.
Jen, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, set up Cancer Card Scotland as an online hub where people with cancer could find out about all the support available to them.
Sharing her experience of applying for benefits after her diagnosis, Jen said: “There is a perception that to get disability benefits someone needs to have a physical disability that is there all the time, but that’s not the case.
“Cancer can have a substantial and long-term effect on someone’s ability to do normal daily activities. It affects you not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. For most people, how they feel and the level of help they need changes.
“For example, every three weeks I have an infusion of life-extending Herceptin, which takes three or four hours. It’s exhausting and I get so tired I can’t move.
“Without my Blue Badge and my Adult Disability Payment I couldn’t do half the things I do. I want people with cancer to know that it’s okay to get financial support and it’s okay to apply for Child Disability Payment or Adult Disability Payment.
“Everyone needs help at some point in their life.”
Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, said: “Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment are there to help cover the extra costs that come with being disabled or having a long-term health condition such as cancer.
“Getting a cancer diagnosis is difficult enough without worrying about bills. This is money people are entitled to and I urge everyone who is eligible to apply for support.
“Many people with cancer have spoken about how attending appointments and getting treatment can be a full-time job. That’s why we fast track applications from people diagnosed with terminal cancer so that they can get the support they need as quickly as possible.
“Social Security Scotland can help people apply for these payments either over the phone or face-to-face in a location that suits them.
“We also fund independent advocacy service Voiceability to provide help to disabled people applying for Scottish benefits.”
More information on eligibility and how to apply is available via the MyGov.scot website.
Parents and carers are being encouraged to check their eligibility for financial support as the summer holidays end and they prepare for their children going back to school.
Extra costs, including new shoes, stationery and lunch boxes, can soon add up.
The five family payments administered by Social Security Scotland can help pay for extra back to school expenses alongside everyday family costs like food, clothing and days out.
This includes the Scottish Child Payment, a weekly payment of £26.70 for eligible families with children up to 16. The payment is unique to Scotland and is supporting over 329,000 children and young people.
The three Best Start Grant payments and Best Start Foods, also part of social security support, are designed to help families at key stages in their children’s early years, including during pregnancy.
There is no cap on the number of children in one family who can receive these payments.
Up to the end of March 2024, over £829 million has been provided to families across Scotland through the five family payments.
Speaking at Home-Start Dundee, a charity that helps families with young children, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said: “The most important priority for our government is eradicating child poverty, and we are committed to easing the pressure on families by getting vital money into their pockets at key stages in their child’s life.
“Whether it is helping families to buy healthy foods during pregnancy and for their kids as they grow, pushchairs to help on the move, or new shoes and clothing for school, our payments are there when they need it most.
“We’re already supporting thousands of families across Scotland through our five family payments, and wider Scottish Government support is also helping to protect them as much as we can from the impacts of the cost of living crisis.
“Even if you are working you could still get these payments and I want to encourage everyone to check if they are eligible and access the money they are entitled to.”
Estelle Coulthard, Family Support Coordinator at Home-Start Dundee, said: “We are a local charity providing support for families with young children across Dundee that face daily challenges in life. We’re there to provide support as they learn to cope, help improve their confidence and build better lives for their children.
“We are responsive to the individual needs of families, and this includes helping to make parents aware of the financial support they are entitled to and work with them to complete application forms for financial assistance.
“We know parents who have struggled to purchase everyday items such as formula and healthy foods for their children but the support they have received through the five family payments meant they no longer have to worry about feeding their child.
“The first five years between birth and school are vital for a child’s development and the five family payments make a huge difference to the beginning of a little one’s life, supporting parents to have the funds to purchase the necessities they need. Without these payments, families would not survive the constant rise in the cost of living in Scotland.”
During the school summer holidays families can face increased costs for everything from childcare and extra activities to food bills.
We are asking our partners and stakeholders to help spread the word about financial support available and ask people to check if they are eligible for any of our family payments.
People can apply for payments for all of their children using a single form.
Earlier this year, the Scottish Government extended eligibility by removing income limits for Best Start Foods. Now, anyone who gets a qualifying benefit, and is pregnant or has a child under 3, is eligible, regardless of their other income.
Some people might not think they are eligible for payments because they are working. However, people in work, whether part-time or full-time, can also receive many of the payments delivered by us, including those designed to help families on low incomes.
In Scotland, around one in three people getting Universal Credit are in work, and Universal Credit is one of the qualifying benefits for getting Scottish Child Payment, Best Start Foods and the three Best Start Grant payments.
Parents, carers and guardians can get more information at Children and family – mygov.scot or by calling us free on 0800 182 2222.
Thousands of unpaid carers in Scotland can apply for a new benefit from today. Carer Support Payment, the replacement for Carer’s Allowance, is now available in Angus and North and South Lanarkshire.
Carers living in these areas are the first to be able to apply for Carer Support Payment since it was introduced in the pilot areas of Perth & Kinross, Dundee City and Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) in November 2023.
New rules that come into effect today also mean the benefit, paid by Social Security Scotland, is available to more student carers.
Since its introduction, the benefit has been available to carers aged 16-19 in full-time “advanced” education, carers over 20 in full-time education at any level, as well as carers in part-time education.
However, from today, some 16-19-year-old carers in full-time “non-advanced” education, such as school, are also eligible for Carer Support Payment.
In addition, some carers – mostly full-time students – can now have their benefit payments backdated to when Carer Support Payment was first introduced.
The benefit will be rolled out to more local authorities in the next few months and will be available in all of Scotland from 4 November.
Carers who live in areas where Carer Support Payment is not yet available are urged to apply for Carer’s Allowance to make sure they don’t miss out on support.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said: “I’m delighted that more carers in Scotland can now get Carer Support Payment and I urge every carer who is eligible for the benefit to apply as soon as possible.
“I also encourage anyone who thinks they might be eligible to check if they can apply. This includes students studying full-time who are not eligible for Carer’s Allowance.
“The work unpaid carers do is invaluable and I want every carer to get the money they are entitled to.”
Keira Carruthers, 18, will be one of those applying for Carer Support Payment. The Blantyre woman, who has been looking after her dad since she was 13, is due to start an HNC in August.
She said: “People really underestimate how hard it is to be a young carer. Caring for my dad can be difficult if he’s down with an illness or having a bad day.
“Sometimes it’s full-blown medical issues but other days it’s keeping him company and keeping him occupied. Being a young carer while balancing my studies is a full-time job.
“It’s really important that young people, who look after someone, get support while they’re studying. I’ll definitely be applying for Carer Support Payment.”
Carer Support Payment opens for new applications today, 24 June, in Angus, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.
From 19 August, it will be available in Fife, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, and North, East and South Ayrshire.
It will be available in the rest of Scotland from 4 November.
Carers can use the postcode checker to see if Carer Support Payment is available in their area. postcodecheck.socialsecurity.gov.scot.
Carers can also find out more, and apply at https://www.mygov.scot/carer-support-payment
The number of young carers getting a grant only available in Scotland has rocketed, figures released ahead of Carers Week show.
Over 3,700 teens have received Young Carer Grant payments worth £1.4m in the last financial year, almost 60% more than the year before.
The Scottish Government is urging even more young carers to apply and is asking family and friends to encourage them to check if they’re eligible.
Young Carer Grant is available to anyone aged 16 – 18 who spends at least 16 hours a week on average caring for someone who gets a qualifying disability benefit.
Young carers can offer vital support to family members, friends or relatives who have disabilities or long-term health conditions. This could include making meals, helping with housework, reminding them to take medication or providing emotional support.
The £380 payment can be applied for once a year and spent on whatever the young person wants.
Young Carer Grant was introduced by the Scottish Government in October 2019 to recognise the vital role unpaid young carers play and to help them access opportunities that are the norm for many other young people.
Since then over 12,000 payments totalling £4 million have been made.
Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “At the start of Carers Week, it’s heartening to see that more young carers than ever before are getting Young Carer Grant.
“We introduced the payment in recognition of the vital role young carers play, and to provide money they can use to take part in activities enjoyed by others their age that they might miss out on otherwise.
“I urge any young carer who is eligible for the grant but hasn’t applied in the past year to do so as soon as possible.
“I would also ask the family members and friends of teenagers eligible to encourage them to apply as they may not be aware of the grant or even consider themselves to be a carer.”
Young Carer Grant is a yearly payment of £383.75 for young carers in Scotland. People can apply for Young Carer Grant online, via a paper application form or by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222.
The latest Young Carer Grant statistics were published on 4 June.
Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be paid on Friday 7 June. The £288.60 payment will be made automatically to people who were getting Carer Support Payment or Carer’s Allowance on 8 April 2024.
Carer’s Allowance Supplement is an extra payment for people in Scotland who get Carer Support Payment or Carer’s Allowance on a particular date.
Carer’s Allowance Supplement is paid 2 times a year.
The next payment will be £288.60 from 7 June 2024.
You’ll get this payment if you’re getting Carer Support Payment or Carer’s Allowance on 8 April 2024. If you’re due to get a payment, you’ll get a letter from Social Security Scotland before the payment is made.
If you do not get a letter or payment by 17 June 2024, contact Social Security Scotland.
When designing our disability benefits, Social Security Scotland collaborated with disabled people and their families to create a better and more compassionate system, putting dignity, fairness and respect at its heart.
Child Disability Payment was launched in November 2021. It helps families cover the extra costs of looking after a child or young person who is disabled, who has a long-term health condition or who is terminally ill. Importantly, it isn’t means tested.
Since its introduction, over 80,500 children and young people have received the payment, with more than £621 million being paid out.
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, visited Carrongrange High School – Falkirk Council’s secondary school for pupils with severe and complex additional support needs – on 1 May.
The school’s motto is, ‘Carrongrange – Where you can be all you can be’.
We spoke to children and their families and learned what impact Child Disability Payment has on the lives of pupils who receive it and how it is helping them to live full and independent lives.
Dughall Boyne’s daughter, Rosselyn, has bilateral coloboma, a condition which prevented her eyes from developing properly. She receives Child Disability Payment.
According to Dughall: “Child Disability Payment has been very important for Rosselyn.
“Everything costs more when you have a disability. The payments have allowed us to find after-school activities for Rosselyn which have helped develop her independence. She likes horse-riding but riding lessons for the disabled cost a lot more, because you need three people around the horse.
“Rosselyn has now moved on to Adult Disability Payment and the transfer has been very smooth. We were told at regular intervals what was happening with things like setting up the named contact.
“There were no big forms to fill in and it was all online. We just had to tick the box saying that there had been no change in Rosselyn’s condition. Previously, with the DWP, there was a 13-page form to complete. It’s certainly helped to take a couple of hours off the process and it’s been well received by parents throughout the school.”
Catherine Sneddon’s son, Louis, also goes to Carrongrange. She echoed Dughall’s words about Social Security Scotland’s human rights approach to delivering disability benefits.
“Louis has been on Disability Living Allowance since he was diagnosed in 2013. Back then I didn’t know if he’d be able to claim and it was a constant battle with the DWP.
“It’s only recently that he’s transferred over to Child Disability Payment. It was much more plain sailing than I anticipated. I expected a fight and what I got was a questionnaire through the post. The level of care he gets has been the same for three years so I ticked the box saying, ‘He’s stable.’ And that was it.
“With the DWP I would have had to get a letter from his neurologist to prove he still needed Disability Living Allowance for children. For them your child is what they see on the form. They don’t know how hard it is to care for a child with a disability at home, at school and in the community.
“Social Security Scotland is so different.”
Janine Proudlock, Carrongrange’s headteacher, described exactly how Child Disability Payment helps pupils be all they can be: “For me the Scottish Child Disability Payment supports families to ensure they have the right resources, at the right to time to do the right work to allow the whole family to flourish.
“Whether it’s caring support or specialised resources to meet their child’s needs, this is an essential fund to improve the lives of young people and their families.”
People can find out more about Child Disability Payment and apply by visiting mygov.scot/childdisabilitypayment or by calling Social Security Scotland free on 0800 182 2222.
