Welfare

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.

Jeane Freeman MSPs have granted final approval to the Social Security (Scotland) Bill which will pave the way for the Scottish Government to make the first social security payments later this year.

More than 285,000 households in financial difficulty have received welfare assistance from the Scottish Government over the past five years, new statistics have shown. Since its launch on 1 April 2013, the Scottish Welfare Fund has issued awards to 285,720 individual households totalling £155.8 mil

Campaigners have urged the UK government to urgently halt Universal Credit as new figures show foodbank use in Scotland has soared to record levels. Figures released by the Trussell Trust show a 17% increase in people relying on foodbanks to subsist - against a UK average rise of 13%.

A right to independent advocacy services is to be extended to more people under Scotland’s new social security service. Ahead of the final vote on the Social Security (Scotland) Bill, the Scottish Government has put forward an amendment that would see services provided to anyone who, because of a