Welfare

The Scottish Child Payment was helping the families of more than 327,000 children at the end of December last year, official statistics have shown. The £25-a-week payment helps families as part of a wider package of Scottish Government actions to tackle child poverty and support people during

Housing minister Paul McLennan has urged the UK Government to commit to linking Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates to rents in future years to protect private renters on low incomes. Speaking ahead of the forthcoming UK Budget, the minister also said the Treasury should reverse the forecast 10% rea

Anti-poverty charity the Trussell Trust has urged Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to take urgent action to increase long-term support for people struggling to get by on Universal Credit after it published new research that reveals the devastating consequences of the inadequacy of Universal Credit

People who receive Universal Credit, tax credits and certain benefits and are responsible for paying for a funeral are being urged to apply for help from the Funeral Support Payment. The Funeral Support Payment provides eligible people with financial support to help pay for a partner, child, pa

The threshold from which parents start to pay back child benefit should be increased to help support families through the cost-of-living crisis, the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) has said.

More than 43,000 payments have been paid automatically to help parents and carers with the cost of living and starting school, latest official figures show. The introduction of automatic payments means that tens of thousands of people getting Scottish Child Payment have been awarded Best Start Grant

Millions of households across the UK will start to receive a £299 Cost of Living Payment from yesterday until 22 February as part of the UK Government’s £104 billion Cost of Living support package.

Moray Council is introducing an increased level of prioritisation of welfare grants to ensure those with the highest rating of need are supported.

A Glasgow man is praising a service helping social housing tenants claim welfare benefits. Retired painter and decorator Raymond Walker is one of nearly 3700 Wheatley Homes Glasgow customers who have benefited from the support of the Welfare Benefit Advisor team.

Edel Harris OBE, former chief executive of the charity Mencap, has been appointed to chair the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment. The independent review – a Programme for Government commitment – will consider people’s experiences of the Scottish benefit to ensure it co

A Glasgow man has praised an advice service for helping him access benefits he didn’t know he was entitled to.

Around 1.6 million private renters across the UK are set to receive a substantial boost to their housing support in April after the UK Government laid legislation to increase Local Housing Allowance (LHA).

The Independent Living Fund, which supports disabled people, is to reopen to new applicants after receiving £9 million investment as part of the 2024-25 Scottish Budget. The funding forms part of the £19.5 billion budget for NHS recovery, health and social care and will support around 1,

Money to help with heating costs is on its way to around 400,000 people on low incomes through the Scottish Government benefit Winter Heating Payment.

Gavin Smith, chair of the CIH Scotland Board and service manager at Fife Council, reflects on the Autumn Statement and what it means for the private rented sector. On 22 November the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, announced as part of the UK Government’s Autumn Statement that Local