Welfare

A fundamental review of disability assistance must be initiated by the Scottish Government during the next parliament, according to a coalition of organisations campaigning for long-term improvements to social security for disabled people.  Following the devolution of powers over 

A new benefit to support 16 to 24-year-olds into work if they have been unemployed for six months will open for applications today. Job Start Payment is a one-off £250 payment to help with the costs of starting a new job. The upper age limit rises to 25 for care leavers and the payment rises t

The number of Scottish households hit by the benefit cap increased by 76% in the first two months of lockdown, according to new statistics released by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government yesterday.

Shelter Scotland has reiterated its call for an extension to the current eviction protections amid a 40% increase in applications for crisis grants. New figures from the Scottish Welfare Fund show there were 21,709 applications for crisis grants in June 2020, and a total spend of £1,310,8

Feeling Strong, a Dundee-based youth mental health charity, is creating two exciting new resources for children, guardians and young people who are facing mental health challenges.  Dundee is in the midst of an ongoing mental health crisis, in desperate need for mental health services and resou

Age Scotland is offering free benefit checks for over 75s to help people find out if they are eligible for Pension Credit.

A new Universal Credit system which will see social landlords receive direct rent payments on the same day that tenants are paid the rest of their benefits is to be rolled out from next month, the UK Government has announced.

The proportion of claimants receiving their first Universal Credit payment on time has seen “significant” improvements but the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) needs to do more to support vulnerable people and others who struggle to make a claim, according to the National Audit Off

A 37% increase in applications for crisis grants from the Scottish Welfare Fund highlights the need for an extension to the current protections against eviction, according to Shelter Scotland.

Dundee City Council has been awarded an additional £200,000 by the Scottish Government to support tenants who are under financial pressure due to coronavirus. This additional funding is being made available to tenants through Discretionary Housing Payments.

Independent research agency Ipsos MORI is conducting research on behalf of the Scottish Government on the Universal Credit Scottish Choices scheme, which includes an option for tenants on Universal Credit to choose to have their housing cost element paid directly to their landlord.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has lost its appeal against an earlier victory for four working single mothers challenging the rigidity of the Universal Credit (UC) system for calculating their earnings.

Children eligible for free school meals will be among those who continue to be supported over the summer through a package of £27.6 million of additional funding from the Scottish Government.

Housing minister Kevin Stewart has written to the UK Government calling for the suspension of the benefit cap and the removal of the spare room subsidy as part of urgent action to support housing tenants affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to the secretary of state for work and pension

Appointees should be able to collect benefits on behalf of consenting adult claimants but safeguards must be put in place to limit fraud and the exploitation of vulnerable people, according to a Scottish Parliament committee. MSPs on Holyrood’s social security committee have backed a Bill whic