Universal Credit

The introduction of Universal Credit has greatly increased rent arrears and immediate action is needed to tackle the issue, a Scottish Parliament committee has said.

A £1 million fund is to be made available to help Fife Council tenants who are struggling to cope with the effects of Universal Credit (UC). As part of the council's commitment to a fairer Fife, convener of the community and housing services committee, Cllr Judy Hamilton, said the decision wil

Local authorities in Scotland spent more than £62 million over the last year under the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme.

As many as one in three people seeking help with Universal Credit don’t have access to the internet to make their claim, according to new figures from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS).

Scottish Labour has called on the Scottish Government to use the new powers over social security to ensure automatic payment of the Universal Credit housing element to landlords. Analysis by the party found that fewer than half of eligible households have opted for the direct payments.

A Financial Inclusion Team formed by Govan Housing Association to assist its tenants and the wider community with all matters relating to money and welfare benefit advice is celebrating a successful first year. Within the first 12 months, the enhanced service has generated just over £1.2 milli

Ahead of giving evidence today to the Scottish Parliament’s social security committee inquiry into social security support for housing, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) said that “Universal Credit is creating systemic indebtedness and arrears for new claimants&rdquo

Citizens Advice Scotland has launched a new DWP-funded service to support people during their initial application for Universal Credit. The "Help to Claim" service, launched today, offers support tailored to the individual claimant either face-to-face, over the phone or online through webchat. It wi

Seven affordable housing providers across the Highlands are urging tenants claiming Universal Credit to update their claim this April 1 to ensure their entitlement covers their annual rent increase for the year ahead. Those who fail to do so will face a shortfall in their housing entitlement, p

Scotland’s largest membership organisation for landlords in the private rented sector has asked the UK and Scottish Governments to ensure the housing element of Universal Credit is paid directly to private and social landlords for all Scottish claimants. Giving oral evidence to the social secu

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has responded to an inquiry by the UK Parliament’s work and pensions committee into Universal Credit ‘natural’ migration by calling for a pause until key conditions are met. The SFHA would like to see the outcomes of

The contribution of the Universal Credit rollout to an increase in food bank use has finally been conceded by work and pensions secretary Amber Rudd. Having long been disputed by successive ministers, the link between the flagship welfare reform, which has been plagued with delays, and food insecuri

People due to move from tax credits to Universal Credit face significant issues and a dramatic culture change, according to Holyrood’s social security committee. The warning comes in the committee’s latest report into in-work poverty which has raised deep concerns with the flagship welfa

The Scottish Parliament’s social security committee has launched an inquiry into whether the social security system adequately supports tenants in both the private rented sector and social housing. There are growing concerns that a system which should support people to be able to rent an affor

CIH policy and practice officer Sam Lister rounds up all the latest changes to Universal Credit – including some which have slipped under the radar. Already in 2019 we’ve seen several new announcements about Universal Credit – in addition to those in the November Budget. Some have