Welfare

The Scottish Government has announced that Best Start Foods payments will increase this month. The payment supports low-income families to buy healthy food for children under the age of three, and forms part of the Scottish Government’s national mission of eradicating child poverty.

The new Child Disability Payment has opened for applications from people living in three pilot areas. Families of children with a disability or long-term health condition living in Dundee City, Perth and Kinross and Western Isles council areas who need financial support should apply to the new syste

Plans for an additional payment for some unpaid carers are being considered by the Scottish Parliament’s social justice and social security committee. The Carer’s Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill will double the Carer’s Allowance Supplement (CAS) to be paid in December. It will

The £20 increase in Universal Credit brought in during the coronavirus pandemic should be made permanent, according to senior politicians at the UK’s four parliaments.

The UK Supreme Court has held that the “two-child limit” used in calculating part of child tax credit payments is compatible with Articles 8, 12, and 14 of the ECHR after an appeal was brought by two adults and eight children against decisions of the Secretary of State for

Eligible families can apply for a Scottish Government grant of at least £120 to help with the cost of school uniforms. The Scottish Government and local authority leaders have reached an agreement to increase the national school clothing grant to a minimum of £120 per eligible primary sc

Social justice secretary Shona Robison has urged eligible young people to apply for Job Start Payment if they are starting a new job after a period of unemployment. Eligible 16-24-year-olds, who have been on certain benefits for six months or more, can apply for the one-off payment worth £252.

The Scottish Greens are calling on the Scottish Government to guarantee full mitigation of the benefit cap. The benefit cap is a UK Government policy that caps the amount of social security a household can receive, regardless of the level of need.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has welcomed encouraging changes from the Scottish Government around adult disability payments, but is urging the government to go further to improve the payment for more disabled people by scrapping the 20 metre rule. The Scottish Government’s response to the co

The UK Parliament’s Scottish Affairs Committee has published its report into welfare policy in Scotland in which MPs have called on the UK Government and Scottish Government to improve information sharing to implement policy and to work together to improve benefit take-up.

HMRC was wrong to refuse a backdated claim for child tax credits for asylum seekers who had been granted refugee status, a judge in the Court of Session has ruled in the first successful social security test case for asylum seekers and tax credits in the UK.

The Children’s Commissioners of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have published a letter they have sent to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions calling for an end to the two-child limit on Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit. In the letter, the Commissioners state that the policy

A new welfare guide has been published on the Highland Council’s website to highlight to people across the Highlands the range of financial support and guidance which is available to them. 

An estimated 78,775 children have already benefitted from Scottish Child Payment since its launch. The benefit, which is unique to Scotland, is intended to help low-income families with the costs of raising a child. It gives qualifying parents and carers £40 every four weeks for each child und

In advance of the Queen’s Speech later today, Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has called for Universal Credit reform to be a UK Government priority in its legislative agenda.