Welfare

A new annual publication with estimated take-up rates of Scottish social security benefits has been published for the first time. The report will help track progress against the Scottish Government’s Benefit Take-up Strategy which is a requirement of the 2018 Social Security (Scotland) Act.

Wheatley Group has helped tenants claim back more than £5 million in benefits they were entitled to in the past six months. The group’s 24 welfare benefits advisors have helped more than 3600 tenants of Wheatley Homes Glasgow, Wheatley Homes East, Wheatley Homes South and Loretto Housing

Families of an estimated 145,000 children will benefit from extra support this winter to help with cost of living pressures – backed by Scottish Government investment of £18.9 million. Bridging Payments were introduced in 2021 ahead of the extension of the Scottish Child Payment to 6-15-

A veterans support fund is now open to help improve the lives of former service personnel and their families. A key priority for this year’s Scottish Veterans Fund is to make sure veterans and their families are supported in response to the ongoing cost of living crisis.

The Citizens Advice network in Scotland unlocked over £132 million for people in the last year, new statistics published this week will show. In 2021/22 the network of 59 Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) and the Extra Help Unit in Glasgow helped over 174,500 clients in Scotland and dealt with alm

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has responded to suggestions that the UK Government will not uprate benefits in line with inflation, saying the move would be 'absolutely catastrophic for the poorest and most vulnerable in the UK. Commenting on the suggestion by his junior Treasury Secretary Chris Phi

More than £35 million in additional benefits was generated for residents by advice services in North Lanarkshire in 2021/22. North Lanarkshire Council's Social Inclusion and Wealth Team, social work and housing services provide local people with advice and support on a wide range of benefits-r

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will set out a raft of actions today in a Programme for Government designed to help people through the cost emergency, including an increase to the Scottish Child Payment and a rumoured rent freeze for tenants. Reports in the Daily Record today suggest Ms Stu

A total of £84 million has been paid to families since it was introduced less than 18 months ago. The payment of £20 per week, unique to Scotland in the UK, began in February 2021 as a direct measure to tackle child poverty. It provides regular, additional financial support to parents an

Hillhead Housing Association has successfully gained National Standards reaccreditation for the provision of Information and Advice for its welfare rights service and income maximisation services. The initial accreditation was awarded in December 2018.

The Adult Disability Payment has opened for new applications across Scotland. The national rollout follows successful pilots in 13 local authority areas, which began in March.

Around 1.1 million claimant families receiving tax credits will get their first Cost of Living Payment from Friday 2 September 2022, HMRC has confirmed.

Around six million people with disabilities in the UK will receive their one-off £150 disability Cost of Living payment from 20 September, the government has confirmed this week. Those being paid a qualifying disability benefit will be paid automatically from 20 September, with the vast majori

Prepayment meter customers on Universal Credit could see the value of their payments effectively wiped out by soaring energy costs, new analysis from Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has found. Around 470,000 households in Scotland are prepayment meter customers, paying for their energy in advance. Th

The First Minister has chaired the Scottish Government Resilience Committee to discuss urgent steps to mitigate the growing cost emergency which is affecting people and businesses. Ministers assessed the current situation and likely scenarios in the months ahead and agreed a number of immediate acti