Welfare

The new Scottish Child Payment is to open early for applications from Monday November 9. Social Security Scotland will be taking applications ahead of its introduction on Monday 15 February 2021 to help manage the expected demand.

People challenging disability benefit decisions will be able to claim a new Short Term Assistance payment under Scotland’s new social security system. Short Term Assistance will mean people continue to receive the amount of money they were getting before the decision was made to lower or stop

A woman who argued it was unlawful to distinguish between Statutory Maternity Pay and state Maternity Allowance when calculating how much a person should receive in Universal Credit has failed in her claim before an English court.

The amount paid out in crisis grants to people in need increased by more than three quarters in the early stages of lockdown, according to the latest Scottish Government figures. The Scottish Welfare Fund awarded £5.2 million in crisis grants between April and June 2020, up 77% on the sam

Families of disabled children will receive a new heating benefit from the Scottish Government by Christmas. The Child Winter Heating Assistance is a new £200 payment to help families of a child on the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for Children to heat their homes.

As the Scottish Government share details of what its new disability benefits will look and feel like for those who interact with the new benefit system, cabinet secretary for social security and older people Shirley-Anne Somerville explains how a series of policy position papers will set o

A £30 million package of funding from the Scottish Government is being made available to local authorities to support people facing financial hardship as a result of coronavirus, including money to provide free school meals over the school holidays. Local authorities will be given flexibility

Young carers are being encouraged to check if they are entitled to further awards as the Young Carer Grant marks it’s second anniversary. The Young Carer Grant is a £305.10 payment available on an annual basis for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds who spend an average of 16 hours a week caring for

A starter payment should be made to people claiming Universal Credit (UC) for the first time to ensure that everyone has enough money for basics such as food and heating during the five-week wait for their initial monthly payment, a report by the Work and Pensions Committee has recommended. The 

CIH Scotland has raised concerns about the increased risk of eviction and homelessness as the UK Government’s job retention scheme comes to a close at the end of October.  Responding to the Scottish Parliament's social security committee’s call for evidence on the impact of COVID-19

People on low incomes will be eligible to receive a new £500 grant from the Scottish Government if asked to self-isolate. The new Self-Isolation Support Grant will help those who would lose income if they needed to self-isolate, such as those unable to carry out their work from home.

New legislation to improve the benefits system to help those who need it most was unanimously passed by the Scottish Parliament yesterday. The Social Security Administration and Tribunal Membership (Scotland) Bill supports the delivery of the new Scottish Child Payment, to provide low-income familie

Social Security Scotland has taken a 20-year lease to become the first tenants at Dundee’s Waterfront regeneration project. Cabinet secretary for social security, Shirley Anne Somerville, said the site will be one of three locations that Social Security Scotland will operate from as it continu

North Lanarkshire Council has added a further £500,000 to its Universal Credit Assistance Fund and is providing more help to tenants falling into rent arrears due to built-in waiting times for Universal Credit payments. The fund, which is in place for council tenants struggling with the impact

The latest figures from the Scottish Fiscal Commission estimate that 194,000 children aged under six in Scotland will be eligible for the new Scottish Child Payment. This is an increase of 14% in eligible children since the Scottish Government’s forecast in June 2019, accounting for the increa