Advice Direct Scotland

Scottish benefits claimants are being reminded to take action as a key date approaches for the switch to Universal Credit. Advice Direct Scotland, which runs the national advice service advice.scot, said that households should prepare for changes as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) continu

Charities are warning of another difficult winter on the horizon for many Scottish households after Ofgem confirmed that the typical household's annual energy bill will rise by £149 in October.

A predicted rise in the cost of energy bills in October will come as a shock to households still struggling with debts built up last winter, Scotland’s national advice service has said.

Scots have been urged to be on their guard against cowboy firms trying to cash in on home insulation scams by falsely claiming they have ties to consumer watchdogs.

Scottish benefits claimants have been urged to prepare for the latest universal credit shake-up as notice letters arrive through letterboxes across the country. Advice Direct Scotland, which runs the national advice service advice.scot, said households should prepare for changes as the Department fo

More than 30 Scottish households are being forced to stop using their gas and electricity every week because they cannot afford to top up their prepayment meters. Figures from national advice agency Advice Direct Scotland show that the energy crisis is far from over, with prices still high and many

Scottish households are still paying hundreds of pounds more for gas and electricity than they were before the energy crisis hit despite Ofgem lowering the energy price cap again, a charity has warned.

The bosses of two of the UK’s biggest energy companies have called for the introduction of a social energy tariff to help low-income households who are struggling to pay the bills.

Energy regulator Ofgem is seeking views on a range of options being considered to reform the energy price cap, including a cap based on consumers’ vulnerability and when energy is used.

The Scottish Government must use the £300 million of Barnett Consequential funding allocated for Scotland in yesterday’s UK Spring Budget to restore the housing budget, Homes for Scotland (HFS) has said. Housing saw a cut of over £200 million in December’s Scottish

Fuel poverty rates in Scotland increased to 31% of all households in 2022, of which more than 18% were in extreme fuel poverty, the latest Scottish House Condition Survey has found.

Scotland’s national advice service is calling for a UK-wide social energy tariff to be introduced to fix the “broken” market and help end the scourge of fuel poverty.

A charity has welcomed a predicted fall in the cost of energy bills in April but warned that it will “do nothing” to address soaring levels of debt faced by households.

The price of energy for a typical household that uses gas and electricity and pay by Direct Debit will go up by £94 after Ofgem announced it will increase the price cap by 5% on the previous quarter from 1 January 2024.

Scots have been urged to look out for scams as cost-of-living support payments of £300 start arriving in bank accounts this week.