Written Question · S5W-28685 · Session 5
What change in (a) Best Start Grant applications, (b) Funeral Support Payment applications and (c) Carer's Allowance Supplement caseload So…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government what change in (a) Best Start Grant applications, (b) Funeral Support Payment applications and (c) Carer's Allowance Supplement caseload Social Security Scotland (i) has experienced and (ii) expects to experience since the start of the of the COVID-19 outbreak.
The answer
The number of applications received, decisions made, payments and expenditure for Best Start Grant and Funeral Support Payment since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak have remained fairly consistent.
Given the increases seen in numbers of people applying for DWP unemployment benefits, it is likely that the number of people in Scotland who are eligible for Social Security Scotland benefits will increase. We may therefore expect to see an increase in applications, and subsequently expenditure, over the coming months.
Carer’s Allowance Supplement is made to Scottish recipients of Carer’s Allowance on specific eligibility dates. DWP continue to administer Carer’s Allowance, and they send us a data twice a year to identify those eligible for Carer’s Allowance Supplement on each of the eligibility dates. The data are sent to Social Security Scotland around six weeks after each Carer’s Allowance Supplement eligibility date to allow them to make Carer’s Allowance Supplement payments. The latest eligibility date was 13 th April, therefore we are not due to receive data from DWP until late May. We would not anticipate caseload for Carer’s Allowance Supplement to have changed due to Covid-19.
Scottish Government are working with Citizens Advice Scotland to run a campaign to support people to find out and access all the financial assistance that they are entitled to. This will appear on digital, radio and broadcast channels and be supported by a PR campaign. We are also working with other intermediaries to get this message out there
- creating a bank of stakeholder resources in accessible formats and content that can be ordered by voluntary organisations to distribute to very vulnerable people in local communities. Social Security Scotland is also underpinning this with its ongoing marketing activity to encourage people to access the benefits it offers. This includes promoting easements that were included in the recent Coronavirus (Scotland) Act.
Given the increases seen in numbers of people applying for DWP unemployment benefits, it is likely that the number of people in Scotland who are eligible for Social Security Scotland benefits will increase. We may therefore expect to see an increase in applications, and subsequently expenditure, over the coming months.
Carer’s Allowance Supplement is made to Scottish recipients of Carer’s Allowance on specific eligibility dates. DWP continue to administer Carer’s Allowance, and they send us a data twice a year to identify those eligible for Carer’s Allowance Supplement on each of the eligibility dates. The data are sent to Social Security Scotland around six weeks after each Carer’s Allowance Supplement eligibility date to allow them to make Carer’s Allowance Supplement payments. The latest eligibility date was 13 th April, therefore we are not due to receive data from DWP until late May. We would not anticipate caseload for Carer’s Allowance Supplement to have changed due to Covid-19.
Scottish Government are working with Citizens Advice Scotland to run a campaign to support people to find out and access all the financial assistance that they are entitled to. This will appear on digital, radio and broadcast channels and be supported by a PR campaign. We are also working with other intermediaries to get this message out there
- creating a bank of stakeholder resources in accessible formats and content that can be ordered by voluntary organisations to distribute to very vulnerable people in local communities. Social Security Scotland is also underpinning this with its ongoing marketing activity to encourage people to access the benefits it offers. This includes promoting easements that were included in the recent Coronavirus (Scotland) Act.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S5W-28685 by reference.