Welfare

Low-income households are losing out on hundreds of pounds a year because of a failure of the Universal Credit system to indentify how and when to pay claimants, a charity has warned. A report from the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has identifies a range of problems arising from the rigid system

Graeme Brown Housing and homelessness charity Shelter Scotland has lamented new figures which reveal that nearly 300,000 households have been helped by emergency relief from the Scottish Welfare Fund.

Marshall Gemmell Blairtummock Housing Association, Gardeen Housing Association and Provanhall Housing Association are working in partnership with Connect Community Trust to provide a new welfare rights service for tenants.

The four UK housing federations have issued a joint call to the UK government to reform the “flawed” Universal Credit system which they say is causing debt, suffering and hardship for the families they house. The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, England’s National Housing Federatio

Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey Work and pensions secretary Esther McVey has been forced to apologise after being criticised by the national audit watchdog for making “incorrect” claims about Universal Credit in Parliament.

Sally Thomas A highly critical report on the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP’s) progress in implementing Universal Credit (UC) echoes many of the concerns that have been consistently raised by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA), its chief executive has said.

Legitimate housing provision in the form of good quality housing association accommodation is a “critical resource” for supporting vulnerable tenants at risk of being exploited from serious organised crime, according to new research. A study into changes in serious organised crime, its impact in

The current system of benefit sanctions is failing to treat claimants with dignity and respect and causing severe hardship for some of the most vulnerable people in society, according to the Law Society of Scotland. In its response to the UK Parliament's work and pensions committee inquiry into bene

Dr Beth Watts Suzanne Fitzpatrick

John Blackwood Landlords are ready to play their part to help ensure households on lower incomes are not priced out of city living, says John Blackwood at the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL).

Graeme Brown A 7% increase in the number of applications for financial assistance towards housing costs made by households claiming housing benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit show the increased pressure faced by households across Scotland, Shelter Scotland has warned.

Wellhouse Housing Association welcomed the National Housing Federations of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England last week to discuss tenant led boards and the possible impact of the full roll out of Universal Credit (UC) as part of a UK nations information sharing event. The Federations vis

Aoife Deery outlines Shelter Scotland’s concerns about the impact welfare reform is having on renters. Last week, the Scottish Government published its third report into the impact of welfare reform, which confirms worries that the private rented sector is increasingly unaffordable for many and es

Households renting in the private and social sectors have been severely affected by UK government welfare policies, according to a new report. The Impact of UK Welfare Policy on Housing report highlights the negative effect of Universal Credit on both tenants and landlords, due to the major increase

Dundee House The Scottish Government has signed contracts for an interim location in Dundee for its new social security agency.