Welfare

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has written to housing associations regarding its plans to ensure landlords receive direct payment of housing costs at the same time as tenants receive their Universal Credit payment.

The new UK government must urgently tackle issues that are pushing an increasing number of tenants into poverty such as high energy prices and Universal Credit, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has said.

This week Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire & East Renfrewshire (WASLER) signed a two-year partnership with Scottish Churches Housing Action (SCHA). SCHA brings together the main Christian denominations and organisations in Scotland, with the vision of a Scotland free of homelessness.

More than £1.4 billion was invested in 2018-19 to support low-income households across Scotland through investment in housing, childcare, employment support and social security, according to the latest report on the Fairer Scotland Action Plan. The third progress report also found that more th

Improving the cost of living, especially for people on low incomes, must be at the heart of the next government’s agenda, Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) demand today. The charity made the call as it published its annual state of the nation report, ‘Advice in Scotland’.

Local authorities in Scotland made 99,910 awards under the Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) scheme during the period 1 April to 30 September 2019, new figures have shown.

An initiative to use technology to manage the condition of private tenement communal areas is one of ten new projects to have joined a Scottish Government accelerator programme. Set up in 2016 to help organisations secure investment and create jobs, the CivTech Accelerator programme has deliver

The Scottish Parliament's social security committee continued its inquiry into benefit uptake last week with a visit to Wester Hailes Education Centre. The committee met with various organisations and individuals to try to uncover why a huge number of benefits remain unclaimed.

Long-serving housing officer Ron Archer, who has worked tirelessly to ensure tenants are given the support they need, has been presented with The Highland Council’s Employee of the Year award. Mr Archer has been a housing management officer working in the Inverness team for 30 years and d

A man living with his severely disabled partner in a two-bedroom council house should receive full housing benefit because applying the so-called ‘bedroom tax’ breaches his human rights, the UK Supreme Court has ruled.

Naomi Eisenstadt, former independent advisor on poverty and inequality and trustee of Standard Life Foundation, will today commend the progress made by the Scottish Government on social security but will call on them to do more to put their words into action. Ms Eisenstadt will be joined by Shi

Tenants’ union Living Rent has called on housing associations in Glasgow to commit to no evictions stemming from debts caused by Universal Credit.

A series of UK Government advertisements aiming to dispel myths about Universal Credit have been banned by a regulator for misleading the public.

Partners involved in exploring the feasibility of citizens basic income (CBI) pilots in Scotland have published an interim report into their findings. Fife, North Ayrshire, City of Edinburgh and Glasgow City councils are working together with NHS Health Scotland and the Improvement Service to explor

The Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) has responded to the new figures which revealed that applications for crisis grants from the Scottish Welfare Fund increased by 12% in the quarter until June compared with the corresponding period last year. Jeremy Hewer, SFHA policy lead, said: