Welfare

Housing minister Kevin Stewart has written to secretary of state for work and pensions Thérèse Coffey to urge her to reconsider the decision to freeze Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates for the coming financial year. The Scottish Government said the decision on LHA rates, which i

Families of children with a disability or long term health condition living in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and the Western Isles will be able to apply for the Scottish Government's Child Disability Payment from summer 2021. This new benefit will be available across Scotland from autumn 2021.

A staggering £170 million was unlocked for people in Scotland during 2019/20 thanks to the work of the country's Citizens Advice network, according to new annual figures show. A total of 59 Citizens Advice Bureaux (CABs) and associated national services delivered the gains through social secur

The Scottish Government has provided people who need it with over £540 million in payments since launch in September 2018 up to 31 March 2020, according to a financial report from Social Security Scotland. From 1 September 2018 to 31 March 2020, benefits were delivered that support low in

People struggling to make rent payments are continuing to benefit from support funding from North Lanarkshire Council. The targeted support is available to council tenants who find themselves falling into rent arrears due to waiting times for Universal Credit payments and those who have seen their i

Funding to help people pay for food, heating, warm clothing and shelter during the winter is part of a new £100 million support package. The fund will help those on low incomes, children and people at risk of homelessness or social isolation cope with winter weather and the economic impact of

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has expressed disappointment that Chancellor Rishi Sunak failed to confirm whether the temporary £20-per-week increase to Universal Credit will be made permanent beyond March 2021. Introduced in March this year as a measure to help people whose income was hi

The in-house welfare rights team at West of Scotland Housing Association (WSHA) has helped secure a £22k welfare benefits backdate for one of its tenants. On starting his new tenancy with WSHA, the welfare rights team initially provided Hamish McGregor support to apply for Universal

Almost 6,000 people received a Funeral Support Payment from the Scottish Government in its first full year, according to new statistics. Since it started making payments last September, Social Security Scotland has paid out £8.7 million to people who have lost a loved one.

The UK Parliament’s Scottish affairs select committee has issued a call for evidence regarding its inquiry into welfare policy in Scotland.

A new report from the Scottish Government has revealed the full impact of the planned withdrawal of emergency benefit measures, brought in by the UK Government to support people through the pandemic. Scottish Government analysis shows that if the UK Government takes away the £20-a-we

Child Disability Payment will be the next new benefit to be introduced by the Scottish Government. In an update to the Scottish Parliament yesterday, cabinet secretary for social security Shirley-Anne Somerville said Social Security Scotland will start taking applications from summer 2021 as part of

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.