11/06/14 09:44
Welfare safety net
Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill published.
The first step towards setting out in law the permanent arrangements for the £33million Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) has been made with the introduction of the Wefare Funds (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament.
The SWF, which has been delivered by local authoirities on a voluntary basis since April 2013, provides day-to-day living expenses to those on low incomes who are in crisis as well as providing essential household items to those in need.
The Bill will place a duty on local authorities to maintain a welfare fund, which will allow this local safety net to continue.
The Bill also gives new powers to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) to allow him to scrutinise local authority decisions if an applicant is unhappy with the outcome.
This will provide an independent review function for individuals who apply for help from the fund.
Housing and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said:
“I welcome the publication of the Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill.
“Much has been accomplished since local authorities started delivering the Scottish Welfare Fund on a voluntary basis last April.
“Between April and December 2013, the Fund helped more than 56,000 households. Crucially, it is reaching those in the most deprived areas of Scotland, with around 50 per cent of grants being awarded to people living in the 20 per cent most deprived areas in Scotland.
“In addition, it is good to see that around a third of all applicants are being signposted to other sources of help such as advocacy services, welfare rights, housing and money management organisations.
“This is a clear signal of the benefit of local delivery. Combined with the SPSO’s new independent review function, this Bill demonstrates our commitment to provide a local welfare safety net in Scotland – a commitment which has not been made by the UK Government.”
The Scottish Government publish statistics on the Scottish Welfare Fund. These are available here http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Social-Welfare/swf
On 1 April 2013, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) abolished two elements of the Social Fund - Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans - and transferred funds previously spent on them to Scottish Ministers. In its place, the Scottish Government established the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF).
The Scottish Welfare Fund is a national scheme run by local authorities, based on guidance from Scottish Ministers. The guidance has been developed in partnership with COSLA, local authorities and other stakeholders.
The most recent statistics show that more than 56,000 households have been helped by the Scottish Welfare Fund during its first nine months of operation, providing a safety net to households in a disaster or emergency and helping people set up home or stay in the community rather than being in care.
The Scottish Welfare Fund comprises of Community Care Grants – which helps people to live independently – and Crisis Grants, which provide a safety net in a disaster or emergency. In the first nine months of the scheme, 21,100 households received a total of 22,400 awards for Community Care Grants, averaging £640 per award. The awards were typically for white goods, furnishings and floor coverings.
In addition 40,000 households – including 5,000 households who had also received Community Care Grants - received a total of 54,000 Crisis Grant awards, averaging £69 per award. For Crisis Grants, most expenditure was on food, essential heating costs and other living expenses.
Heriot Watt University has undertaken independent review of the SWF. It showed that the majority of applicants interviewed were satisfied overall with the operation of the interim scheme.