Welfare

1-15 of 749 Articles
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More than 456,000 people are due to receive inter Heating Payments totalling £26.8 million this winter, social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville will tell MSPs today. Updating the Scottish Parliament on support with fuel costs for people on low incomes, Ms Somerville will confirm the S

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West Lothian Council has approved plans to reduce the priority level for Scottish Welfare Fund grants, which will mean more local people will be eligible. The council administers both Crisis and Community Care grants from the Scottish Welfare Fund, to support vulnerable West Lothian families. Crisis

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Thousands of children from disadvantaged backgrounds will benefit from free breakfasts, thanks to £3 million from the Scottish Government. Announced in the draft Budget for 2025-26, Bright Start Breakfasts will help more primary school children get a healthy start to the day. The initiative wi

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Charities have welcomed the Scottish Government’s decision to reinstate an energy support payment for all pensioners, describing the move as a "huge relief" for older people. Social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville confirmed yesterday that on the roll-out of the new benefit next winte

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The Scottish Government’s five family payments have reached a landmark figure since their launch, paying over £1 billion to families across Scotland to help end child poverty, new figures have shown. The latest statistics released from Social Security Scotland reveal that between Februar

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Concerns about the fairness and consistency of grants awarded through the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) have been highlighted in a new report from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The report highlights issues with the distribution of the Fund, which provides grants to those in crisis.

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Social Security Scotland has published its Annual Report and Accounts, which shows that it made £1.9 billion in payments to people in Scotland from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The payments were made across 14 Scottish benefits, seven of which are not available anywhere else in the UK.

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Tens of thousands more unpaid carers in Scotland can apply for a new benefit from today. Carer Support Payment, which is a payment of £81.90 per week paid by Social Security Scotland, has been introduced in phases since November 2023.

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New research shows the full impact the two-child limit policy is causing to children and families in Scotland and its critical role in entrenching child poverty. The report, Every Penny Counts - The Struggle to Survive on The Two-Child Limit, was written by Unity Consulting Scotland and commissioned

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A new disability benefit for people of State Pension age opens today for new applications from people living in five local authority areas.   Pension Age Disability Payment is the 15th benefit administered by Social Security Scotland. It is for people of State Pension age and over who are disab

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Community-based housing associations are finding it increasingly challenging to support new tenants, some of whom are waiting months for basic items due to extreme pressures on the Scottish Welfare Fund, the Glasgow and West of Scotland Forum of Housing Associations (GWSF) has found.

1-15 of 749 Articles