It’s right that benefits are uprated as usual but this should never have been in doubt and legislation mandating inflationary increases is needed as a basic protection for living standards. Struggling families have been worrying themselves sick for months about whether an unmanageable income cut was coming in order to provide the government with a rabbit-out-of-the-hat moment.
The Scottish Government’s announcement this week of increased funding for discretionary housing payments (DHPs) to mitigate the benefit cap as fully as possible is hugely welcome. It is vital now that people affected by the benefit cap apply to their local authority as soon as possible and ask for a backdate to the beginning of this year.
A family’s ability to get universal credit is often based not on their actual circumstances, but on a fictional version of their circumstances. Welfare rights worker Carri Swann explains.
We welcome the commitment from the Scottish government that tackling child poverty is a top priority. Scottish government policies are working. However, soaring inflation and real terms UK benefit cuts in 2022 mean the gap between family incomes and the minimum cost of raising a child is widening horribly. It is more important than ever that all budget decisions are developed through a child poverty lens to understand the direct and indirect impacts on low-income families.
From breakfast clubs to sports activities, before- and after-school provision benefits children and their families hugely. These clubs and activities help children engage with learning and feel fulfilled at school, and they help parents financially by allowing them to work or take up more hours. Unfortunately, many families don’t get to benefit from these clubs, either because they’re too expensive or because they’re not available.
Emergency support plays a small but vital role in the social security system. It is there to help families through one-off shocks that cause a sudden drop in income or increase in costs, such as the onset of a health problem or the washing machine breaking down. But, in practice, many families are not getting the support they need when they need it, and this is contributing to the rising demand for food banks.
A poll by Parentkind and Child Poverty Action Group sought to understand parents’ and carers’ views on extending the school day and in particular what approaches they would like to see implemented for their children during the pandemic recovery period.