Welfare

A guaranteed annual winter heating benefit of £50 will be paid for the first time in February 2023 to around 400,000 low income households.

The roll-out of new devolved social security benefits is going well but there is still a lot to be delivered, according to the latest report from the Auditor General. New and complex social security benefits such as the Scottish Child Payment have been launched despite the challenges of the pandemic

More than £3.25 million has been issued in disability payments to children and young people since the launch of the Child Disability Payment. It is estimated that as of 31 March 2022 a total of 3,050 children and young people were in receipt of the payment.

New research from Action for Children paints a sobering picture of the impact of the £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit on some of the UK’s poorest families amidst the soaring cost of living crisis.

Plans to remove all income thresholds from Best Start Foods by 2023-24 have been announced by the Scottish Government as part of the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’. This will increase eligibility to all people in receipt of a qualifying benefit.

Plans have been announced to automatically pay the Best Start Grant Early Learning and School Age Payments to parents and carers who already receive Scottish Child Payment when their children become eligible. The change will be introduced later this year when Scottish Child Payment is extended to un

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is requiring the Department for Work and Pensions to improve its treatment of disabled benefit claimants in response to serious concerns about failures to meet the needs of its customers with mental health impairments and learning disabilities. Disabil

Taxpayers in Scotland are being encouraged to check online for the range of financial support available from HMRC to help with living costs.

An estimated 70,000 people in Scotland, including 30,000 children, would be lifted out of poverty by 2024 if UK Government welfare reforms introduced since 2015 were reversed, a new report has found.

The flagship family payment – Scottish Child Payment – has now doubled to £20 per week per child, with 104,000 children already benefiting from this increase. The payment, which is unique to Scotland, was designed to tackle child poverty head on. It is one of five family benefits t

Child poverty in Scotland is projected to fall to its lowest level in nearly 30 years as a result of the actions taken to date and commitments in the second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, according to a new report. Updated modelling from the Scottish Government suggests that more than 60,000

Almost £6 billion has been invested to support low income households across Scotland over the last three years. More than a third of that total, around £2.18b, has directly benefitted children as the Scottish Government prepares to publish its Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for 202

The new Adult Disability Payment has opened for applications from people living in three pilot areas. People can apply who live in Dundee City, Perth & Kinross and Western Isles council areas, are aged between 16 and state pension age, and are disabled, have a long-term health condition or have

Disabled people with the most serious lifelong health conditions will have more financial security under Scotland’s social security system, social security minister Ben Macpherson said this week as a new benefit is set to end fixed-term reviews for people with lifelong conditions. The Adult Di

Six Scottish social security benefits will be increased by 6% from April 1. Social security minister Ben Macpherson has announced the rise in support for low income households and carers in light of the increasing cost of living pressures.