Welfare

A fund to trial new ways of combating child poverty has opened for a second round of applications. The Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund (CPAF) will provide up to £80,000 per grant towards local projects that test and evaluate new approaches which target at least one of the three drivers

The families of more than 329,000 children under 16 are benefitting from Scottish Child Payment, the latest statistics show. The weekly payment of £26.70, which is unique to Scotland, is helping families with the cost of living crisis, with over £677 million paid since the payment launch

The Scottish ministers have appointed 128 members to the Social Security Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland. Ministers made their recommendations for appointment on the basis of a report by the Judicial Appointments Board for Scotland.

Thousands more unpaid carers in Scotland will be eligible for a new benefit, if regulations laid this week in the Scottish Parliament are approved. Carer Support Payment is the replacement for Carer's Allowance in Scotland. It was first launched in November 2023 in three pilot areas, Perth & Kin

Parents of disabled children are being urged to make sure they’re not missing out on vital financial support from the Scottish Government. Child Disability Payment is money to help families cover the extra costs of looking after a child or young person who is disabled, has a long-term health c

People in Scotland have received more than £30 million via two Scottish Government benefits to help them deal with increased energy costs this winter, new statistics have shown.

Pensioners in five Scottish local authorities will be the first in the country eligible for a new disability benefit, subject to parliamentary approval of regulations. From 21 October, Pension Age Disability Payment – the replacement for Attendance Allowance - will be piloted in Argyll & B

All disabled children and young people in Scotland who receive disability benefits will now be paid directly from Social Security Scotland. Those children and young people who receive Child Disability Payment will also benefit from a review system different to that of the wider UK, one based on dign

More than £90 million will be allocated to local authorities in 2024-25 to support eligible households at risk of hardship after the Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) scheme came under full Scottish Government control from 1 April 2024.

Scottish Government spending on social security could deliver a £300 million boost to Scotland’s economy over the short term, according to new analysis. Figures published by chief economist Gary Gillespie also show that long-term investment in labour market and social security policies c

More than £44 million has been paid to help thousands of people with the cost of a funeral via a Scottish Government benefit, according to latest figures.

Just 8.5% of private rental homes are likely to be affordable to Universal Credit claimants, despite increases to the amount of housing benefit they can access from next month. Local Housing Allowance will increase from 1 April for the first time since April 2020. Yet Savills research has found the

Plans have been unveiled for a new Scottish benefit to provide continued support to around 66,000 adults with a disability or long-term health condition. Under new proposals, eligible people who receive Disability Living Allowance through the UK Government’s Department for Work and Pensions wo

Age Scotland has identified £1,577,341.81 of unclaimed benefits for older people who called their helpline in 2023, more than double the figure for the previous year, and a record amount for the charity. Scotland’s national charity for older people said the amount – a remarkable 13

Changes to a key Scottish Government benefit will see an estimated 20,000 people able to access money to help with the cost of food shopping for the first time.