Tag: welfare

Extra funding to support low income families

Crisis Grants up by 24%

Funding of  £37.6 million was allocated to support people and families on low incomes in times of need in the 12 months to 31 March 2020 – an increase of 7% on the previous year.

Scottish Welfare Fund payments included £12.9 million in Crisis Grants – up 24% –  and £24.7 million on Community Care Grants.

The fund received 296,870 applications for help, with the most common reason families gave being their benefits or other income had been spent – up 27% on the previous year.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “This is further evidence that the UK Government’s benefits cuts are hitting the poorest in Scotland the hardest, with more and more people struggling just to make ends meet and being pushed to rely on food banks, or suffer from the stress of debt and rent arrears.

“That’s without taking into  consideration the significant financial impact that coronavirus (COVID-19)is having on some of those earning the least in our society.

“We took early action in March to more than double the Scottish Welfare Fund to £80.5 million this year in response to the expected impact of coronavirus, and we have made an additional £110 million available to support people struggling to access food during the pandemic. 

“That funding will help local authority partners continue to support people at this time and we would encourage anyone in need of support to apply to the Scottish Welfare Fund.”

Scottish Welfare Fund annual statistics 2019/20 

More ways to apply for new benefit

Applications for the new Child Disability Payment will be available online, face-to-face and by telephone – for the first time ever.

The Scottish Government is introducing the new benefit this summer, replacing the UK Government’s Child Disability Living Allowance.

By offering a variety of ways for people to apply, the Scottish Government wants to make it as easy as possible for those applying when this first disability benefit opens to new claimants. Paper-based applications are the only possible method under the current UK Government system.

Other improvements include:

  • local delivery staff across the country to provide pre-application support
  • rolling awards with a maximum review period of ten years when the condition of applicants is unlikely to change
  • the option of financial short-term assistance if a person challenges a decision to reduce or stop their disability payment
  • Child Winter Heating Assistance will provide a £200 payment to families with disabled children who receive the highest rate of payment

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We want to remove barriers to accessing the financial support people are eligible for and end the stress and anxiety felt by those using the current UK Government system.

“Offering different, convenient ways to apply, as well as consistent, considerate and sensitive support through the application process, will transform the experience for parents, guardians and carers applying for their loved ones.

“These are the improvements people have told us matter to them. By listening to those with experience of the social security system we can create a system from the ground up that meets the needs of the people of Scotland.

“It is a system that recognises that social security is a human right and will treat people with fairness, dignity and respect.”

Funeral Support Payment to be increased

Extra support will be made available for people on low income benefits to pay for the cost of a funeral.

The Funeral Support Payment’s rate for expenses such as funeral director fees, a coffin, and flowers, is to be increased from £700 to £1,000 for all applications received from 1 April.

The Funeral Support Payment is made up of three separate parts: burial or cremation costs; travel costs; and a standard rate for other expenses – and it is this element which is being increased.

Introduced in September last year, the Funeral Support Payment replaced the UK Government’s Funeral Expense Payment in Scotland, greatly increasing eligibility. It is intended to help alleviate the burden of debt faced by those on low income benefits when paying for a funeral.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “At a time when families are struggling to come to terms with the death of a loved one, the last thing they need is extra financial stress.

“I am proud we are increasing the standard rate by 40% to £1,000 to support those paying for a funeral just months after introducing this important new payment.

“This increase, alongside the extended eligibility we have introduced, means the Funeral Support Payment is there to ease the pressures on up to 5,000 people annually at such a difficult time in their lives. So far the total average pay-out has been around £1,500.

“This benefit is part of the new Social Security system we are building from scratch for the Scottish people, with fairness, dignity and respect at its heart.”

The flat rate payment for other expenses may be used towards any other funeral expenses such as funeral director fees, a coffin, and flowers.

Those eligible for the Funeral Support Payment must be living in Scotland, have had the nearest relationship to the person who has died, be financially responsible for the funeral and be on a qualifying benefit or tax credit (e.g. Income Support, Jobseekers Allowance, Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Pension Credit, Housing Benefit, Child Tax Credit, Disability or severe disability element of Working Tax Credit).

Around 5,000 people are expected to be supported annually by the payment.

For more information or to apply online go to: https://www.mygov.scot/funeral-support-payment/

What a waste: Holyrood spends £100 million to mitigate Tory welfare cuts

This year more than £100 million has been spent to mitigate the effects of UK Government austerity and this money could have been better spent on more anti-poverty measures, Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has said. Continue reading What a waste: Holyrood spends £100 million to mitigate Tory welfare cuts

Making Connections course: tomorrow it’s Welfare

Hi folks,
See below for details of the Making Connections course running at the Royston Wardieburn Community Centre.
This Tuesday we are looking at welfare;: where it is going and how we can tackle poverty by legislation.
Come along – all welcome!
Willie Black

Best Start Grant: greater support for low income families

poverty family JRF

The new Best Start Grant package is putting more money in the pockets of low income families than the DWP system it replaced.

Since it started making Best Start Grant payments last December, Social Security Scotland has made more than 42,000 payments to families in Scotland, totalling £12.9 million. Continue reading Best Start Grant: greater support for low income families

Crisis? What crisis?: More than 336,000 households aided through Scottish Welfare Fund

Scottish Welfare Fund annual spend hits £35 million.

poverty family JRF

People in crisis made more than 165,000 successful applications to the Scottish Welfare Fund in the last financial year, according to the latest statistics.

The Fund paid out £35 million, including £10.4 million in Crisis Grants to people in financial emergency, such as those struggling on low incomes or benefits  – a 14% increase on 2017-18. The money helped people with essentials such as food, heating costs and household items.

A further £24.8 million in Community Care Grants helped those facing extreme financial pressures with one-off costs for purchases including beds, washing machines and cookers.

The Scottish Welfare Fund is part of an annual package of over £125 million to mitigate against the impact of UK Government welfare cuts. Since its launch in April 2013, the Fund has paid out more than £200 million to support over 336,000 households, with a third of recipients being families with children.

Social Security Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We would much rather these resources were invested in anti-poverty measures than protecting our people from another government’s cuts – a positon the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty recently described as ‘outrageous and unsustainable’.

“The fact that so many households in Scotland are in need of emergency financial help is appalling, and a sad indictment of the UK Government’s record on austerity and welfare changes.

“As their welfare cuts continue to cause harm and damage, we continue to do our best to mitigate against them and provide financial support to low income families and carers through new social security benefits.”

In the UN Special Rapporteur on Poverty report published earlier this year, Professor Philip Alston praised Scotland’s “ambitious” schemes for addressing poverty, including the Fairer Scotland Action Plan and the Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

He also noted Scotland’s “promising social security system, guided by the principles of dignity and social security as a human right, and co-designed with claimants on the basis of evidence”

The Scottish Government’s response to the Special Rapporteur’s report shows UK Government welfare cuts have increased the risk of deprivation for low-income families across Scotland

The Scottish Welfare Fund statistics

 can be found on the Scottish Government’s website

Defence Secretary calls for veteran-led support to be at the heart of mental health services

Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt has announced a new package of measures to boost mental health support for ex-service personnel. Continue reading Defence Secretary calls for veteran-led support to be at the heart of mental health services

New report sets out lessons for a Scottish Basic Income pilot

“an unconditional, automatic and nonwithdrawable payment to each individual as a right of citizenship”

IS IT TIME FOR A BASIC INCOME?

A new report published today by the Carnegie UK Trust sets out the key questions to be addressed to pave the way for a successful basic income pilot in Scotland. Continue reading New report sets out lessons for a Scottish Basic Income pilot