Welfare

Nearly two million claims have been made for Universal Credit across the UK during the COVID-19 outbreak, new figures have revealed.

Governments must not lose sight of the underlying reasons behind the increasing reliance on welfare, Shelter Scotland has warned after new statistics revealed an increase in awards by the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Angus Council’s online benefits calculator has helped residents to identify and confirm benefits totalling £3.4 million in the first critical week of the coronavirus lockdown. The calculator continues to be used to help families across Angus, identify b

Household claims for Universal Credit in Scotland have increased from an average of 20,000 per month in 2019 to over 110,000 between 1 March and 7 April, highlighting the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on people’s finances.

Milnbank Housing Association’s income maximisation team has continued to generate increased year on year financial gains after securing £1,871,907 for its tenants during the financial year ending March 31, 2020. The small team of two advisors responded to more than 2,000 claims, the brea

People applying for Universal Credit will now be able to use their existing Government Gateway account to confirm their identity, helping to speed up their claim.

The Scottish Government has temporarily changed eligibility for a number of social security benefits to help people who are impacted by coronavirus.

Devolved benefits due to be rolled-out later this year have been delayed due to the impact of coronavirus on Scotland’s social security services.

Reviews and reassessments for disability benefits are being suspended for the next three months.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s decision to ensure the Local Housing Allowance is guaranteed to cover at least 30% of market rents in a claimant’s area has been welcomed by Shelter Scotland. The announcement came in last week’s package of support for workers in which it was also revealed

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has identified nearly 100,000 Universal Credit claimants that it suspects may have claimed an advance fraudulently, the National Audit Office (NAO) said today.

A coalition of anti-poverty charities is today calling for a significant boost to the Scottish Welfare Fund to protect people in poverty.

Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has welcomed news that face-to-face social security assessments are to be suspended during the coronavirus outbreak and have called on the UK Government for the change to be made permanent.

The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the UK Government was discriminating against vulnerable victims of domestic violence by reducing their housing benefits.

How to eliminate the five-week wait for a first Universal Credit payment is the subject of an inquiry by the UK work and pensions committee. Announcing the inquiry this week, the committee said the Universal Credit process has a “baked in” the wait for the first payment and many organisa