Scottish Welfare Fund exceeds budget in first nine months of financial year

A fund which makes emergency grants to Scots facing financial emergencies has overspent its allocation for 2022-23.

Councils were allocated £35.5 million for the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2022-23, with an estimated £4.4 million which was unspent last year also carried over into this year’s total.

But a report shows more than that total was spent in the first nine months of the financial year alone.

The Scottish Government report said: “Of the estimated total £39.9 million available for awards this year, £41.4 million (104%) had been spent in the first nine months of the financial year.”

More than half a million households have been helped by the fund, which was set up in April 2013.

By the end of December 2022, 501,045 individual households had been given grants totalling £381.6 million.

A third of those assisted over the last decade are families with children, while just over half of all awards went to single people living alone.

The fund pays out crisis grants which help in emergency situations, such as flooding or a fire, but can also be used in financial emergencies.

Councils received 67,410 applications between October and December 2022, 2% more than in the same period the previous year.

A total of 42,165 grants were awarded totalling £4.9 million – however, the number of awards made and the total amount spent were both down on October to December 2021, by 4% and 1% respectively.

Crisis grant applications increased in more than half of all local authority areas, with 18 out of 32 councils reporting a rise, including a 94% increase in East Lothian – where the number of applications rose from 870 in October to December 2021 to 1,685 a year later.

The overwhelming majority (86%) of applications came from households facing some kind of emergency situation, with this including 27,555 cases where all benefits or other income had been spent.

There were also 23,045 applications for community care grants – which help people live independently or care for someone so they can remain in the community – made in the last three months of 2022.

The number of applications for these grants was up by 4% on the same time the previous year.

Councils awarded 12,355 community care grants over the quarter, 2% more than in October to December 2021, while the cash given out amounted to £8.5 million, a rise of 4% on the previous year.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “Tackling poverty and protecting people from harm is one of three critical and interdependent missions for this government.

“Since the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) began in 2013, in excess of £380 million has been paid to more than 500,000 households.

“The cost-of-living crisis and the inadequacy of UK Government welfare policies have contributed to increased demand for the SWF.

“The Scottish Government identified a further £2.5 million for the SWF in 2022-23, in addition to the £35.5 million programme spend, and continues to work closely with local authorities who are delivering the SWF within challenging times.

“As outlined in the First Minister’s policy prospectus, it is only with the full economic and fiscal powers of an independent nation that Scottish ministers can use all levers other governments have to tackle inequalities.”