WIREDGOV

More than 100,000 vulnerable households, including 32,000 families with children, have received essential help to buy everyday products like nappies, food and cookers through the Scottish Welfare Fund.

The Scottish Welfare Fund consists of Crisis Grants - which provide a safety net to low income households in a disaster or emergency - and Community Care Grants, which help people to live independently.

Since the scheme commenced 70,000 households have received Crisis Grants and 43,000 households have received Community Care Grants.

For the most recent quarter (April 2014 to June 2014):

• Crisis Grants averaged around £70 per award, they were mostly for food and heating costs and were claimed because of an emergency. They included: 
o £980,000 of grants given out for food – up from £300,000 during the same period last year; 
o £7,000 for nappies and toiletries.

• Community Care Grants averaged around £640 per award. These awards were most likely to be claimed by people to help them stay in or set up their own home, or families facing exceptional pressures. They included:
o £1.8 million in grants awarded for the refit of carpets and flooring; 
o £2 million for cookers, washing machines and fridges;
o £130,000 for clothing and shoes.

One in four households receiving the awards had a recorded vulnerability such as mental health problems, were lone parents, were physically disabled, or suffered from a chronic illness.

Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said:

“It is heart breaking to see the impacts of welfare reforms laid bare, with people coming forward and applying for help to buy everything from food to shoes to beds.

"It is totally unacceptable that in a country as wealthy as Scotland anyone should be living in poverty and unable to afford items that many of us take for granted.

“These figures show that demand for the Welfare Fund is high and is reaching out to those in the most deprived areas of Scotland. That’s why it is important that we take forward our new Welfare Funds (Scotland) Bill to set out how welfare funds will operate within local authorities to help those most in need.

“We have already set out in the Scottish Government’s submission to the Smith Commission that we need to have full responsibility over welfare and employment powers. Only full powers over welfare, employment and social policy will help us to tackle poverty and allow Scotland to become a fairer country.”

Notes To Editors

Decisions on grant applications are made by local authorities who operate the fund.

The scheme started in April 2013, the figures run until June 2014.

The publication is available to view at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Social-Welfare/swf