Over 56,000 households have been helped by the Scottish
Welfare Fund, during its first nine months of operation. Between 1 April 2013
and 31 December 2013, a total of £18 million was allocated, 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.
Scotland’s Chief Statistician today released
statistics on the first nine months of the Scottish Welfare Fund. The
statistics showed that of over 56,000 households helped, almost 32,000 were
single people and nearly 16,000 were families with children.
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’d 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.
The
figures released today were produced by independent statistical staff free from
any political interference, in accordance with professional standards set out
in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.
Notes To
Editors
The
full statistical publication is available at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Social-Welfa
re/swf
This publication contains: an overview of who has been helped by the scheme;
details on the processing times for applications; information on what the
Scottish welfare Fund has been spent on and household analyses. Local authority
analyses and details of the operation of the review process are also
provided.
Official statistics are produced by professionally
independent statistical staff – more information on the standards of
official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at:http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About
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.