Welfare Rights Team - Annual Report 2023/2024

Foreword by the Strategic Lead, Alan Taylor

Tackling Poverty is the No.1 priority for this Council and we, as a team, are aware that household income and income from Social Security is only part of the solution to tackling poverty, however, we are also aware that advice is a fundamental part of the solution. Access to high quality, comprehensive advice and representation regarding welfare benefits is a vital component of any strategy to tackle poverty, not-least because of the increasing complexity of the welfare benefit system over the past 10 years.

As a Local Authority we have a statutory duty to offer and provide income maximisation to certain groups including, but not exclusively; unpaid carers, people who are homeless, households with dependent children and people that are pregnant.

We work with our Partners to ensure that all of our citizens throughout the whole of the Perth & Kinross area have access to benefits advice from pre-birth to end-of-life.

Our Aim

The Aim of the Welfare Rights Team is to provide universal, free, confidential and impartial appeals representation and benefits advice to all residents of Perth and Kinross.

Our objectives

• Provide a universal, free, confidential and impartial welfare rights service to all of our citizens throughout the whole of Perth and Kinross.  
• Provide a dedicated advice line (including seamless referrals,  signposting, follow-up work and onward referral at the first point of contact). 
• Provide 24/7 access via online Welfare Rights webpages.
• Continue to offer advice on DWP benefits, Tax Credits, Social Security Scotland benefits, housing, eviction, debt and employment rights. 
• Continue to ensure people have the maximum income they are entitled to through comprehensive benefit checks, support with mandatory reconsiderations, mandatory redeterminations and the benefits appeals process (First and Upper Tribunals), targeted campaign work and following up on claims. 
• Continue to remove/reduce barriers and undertake targeted work to ensure that minority community groups can access our service and to be assisted in a way that suits their needs.
• Continue to ensure that people affected by cancer have access to an enhanced welfare rights service which includes form-filling and access to financial assistance through Macmillan Grants in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support.
• Continue to ensure that pregnant women and low income families with dependent children have access to an enhanced welfare rights service which includes form-filling and access to available financial assistance in partnership with NHS Tayside.
• Continue to provide a range of information and support; talks and training, quick guides, leaflets, and web-based information to support the frontline across the authority and to inform our residents. 
• To take a lead role in relation to Welfare Reform and a key role in relation to Child Poverty. 
• Administration of the Welfare Trust and other discretionary monies e.g. Financial Insecurity Fund and Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to ensure that households have access to their statutory entitlements before accessing other available funding. 
• Continue to listen to the needs of citizens and our communities to provide a service that best suits their needs.

What we do

The Welfare Rights Team has three core functions:

• Representation
• Advice & Consultancy
• Training

Who we are

The Welfare Rights Team sits within the Customer & Digital Services department.

• Alan Taylor, Strategic Lead, Customer & Digital Services
• Lynn Brady, Revenues & Benefits Manager
• Nicola Sutherland, Team Leader (Welfare Rights & Welfare Fund)

Welfare Rights Team

• Deborah Sinclair, Senior Welfare Rights Officer
• Liam Watson, Senior Welfare Rights Officer
• Andrew McConnachie, Welfare Rights Officer
• Karen Grant, Welfare Rights Officer
• Bernadette Caldwell, Welfare Rights Officer
• Frances Shaw, Welfare Rights Officer
• Chris Grigg, Welfare Rights Officer
• Rebecca Elliot, Welfare Rights Officer
• Claire MacDonald, Welfare Rights Officer
• Kenneth Thomson-Duncan, Welfare Rights Officer
• Bogdan Ionescu, Welfare Rights Officer

Externally funded projects

• Ilona Napier, Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer
• Kirsty Hynd, Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer 

I joined the Welfare Rights Team a little under 2 years ago, having joined in May 2022. I previously worked in social care, both with children and with adults with disabilities, specifically, autism and in both the public and third sectors. Prior to joining the Welfare Rights Team I worked in the Council's Assessment and Charging Team.

My time in the Welfare Rights Team has been by far the most rewarding of my career so far as every single day we make a quantifiable impact on people's lives. Most of my working week is spent answering calls on our advice line, where we take calls from a wide variety of people, in an even wider variety of situations. Some calls can be as simple as confirming details for a general query, to much more complex and detailed advice and benefit calculations, there and then at the first point of contact. We also offer assisted self-service whereby any benefits/grants that we identify as missing during a call we complete there and then on the call if the forms can be completed online and if it's convenient for the client. We always look at the circumstances of the whole household and often even beyond the household to extended family members e.g. grannies and grandads living elsewhere. It's important that the advice we provide is clear, concise and easy to follow, so we always try to send the advice we've provided to the person in writing or in a format that best suits the needs of the client.

I also carry a caseload of clients that I work with more closely, taking them through the application process all the way to the appeal stage and beyond. In the last year I have supported a number of people including; an army veteran to get his benefits reinstated after they were stopped in error; I've helped a mother and daughter both get disability benefits having previously rejected; and helped a lady where the DWP were refusing to process her change of circumstances that allowed her to reduce her hours at work due to poor health.

The Welfare Rights Team has a really good mix of experience and knowledge with some of us also having personal experience of the benefit system; some having worked for the DWP; and other benefit-related teams within the council, some have backgrounds in advice from the Third sector and from other internal teams such as Housing. The team is really hard working and dedicated, and we support each other to learn and develop regardless of our experience.

As part of our case working, we have designated areas within the local authority. I cover highland Perthshire, which has a wide variety of challenges. People in rural areas are often facing higher costs and expenses and it is vital that we support them to access our service to ensure they get everything they are entitled to. As part of my role I am working with schools; elected members and community groups to get more information out there.

Following one of the recent changes to the approach we take to working I have taken on a role to help liaise with the traveling community and I am really looking forward to getting stuck into working with the various groups. Equality is a core tenet of my beliefs and I can't wait to support such a vulnerable and often maligned group who are regularly missing out on benefits. I've already made some valuable connections with some of the residents at Double Dykes and have distributed a customer survey to gather more information on the needs of the community. We begin our 6-weekly outreach at Double Dykes from May this year and hope to replicate the same with other Gypsy/Traveller sites.

During the time I've been in the team we have experienced Covid restrictions and gone straight from those, deep into the cost-of-living crisis, both of which have seen changes not just in the benefit system and what grants and funds may be available to people, but also how the team operates day-to-day. We have also been contending with the changes in entitlement that impacts EEA Nationals caused by the EU Settlement Scheme. The team has taken all of these challenges on and we have developed a deep knowledge base and adaptable approach that we use every day to make sure all PKC residents that contact us are given the best advice we can.

We deliver advice to members of the public, workers and support to other frontline services/agencies from Monday to Friday via:

• Telephone advice line - 01738 476900 (option 1)
• Email - welfarerights@pkc.gov.uk
• Facebook private messages
• Online referral form
• Face-to-face by prior appointment at Pullar House and at our outreach surgeries throughout the Perth & Kinross area. We are members of the Keep Safe Scheme and Pullar House can be accessed by customers with disabilities

We have over 80 comprehensive Welfare Rights web pages that we have developed and maintained since 2012 to ensure that the residents of Perth and Kinross and those whom we support on the frontline have 24/7 access to benefits information.

Welfare Rights resources

We currently have 11 Welfare Rights Officers.

Web pages and social media

The Welfare Rights Team is committed to the Council's channel shift agenda, not least because we are a small team faced with increasing demand and complexity, and so we have a range of information online that can be used by front-line workers throughout the Perth and Kinross area and our residents alike.

We also have a dedicated Facebook page where we share topical information regarding changes to benefits and more. Since April 2016 we have actively used our Facebook page to raise awareness of the service, we have almost 5,000 followers, with a sharp increase in followers during the coronavirus pandemic.

We have over 80 web pages which cover all aspects of Welfare Benefits containing  detailed information on the current benefit system which includes:

• Scottish Welfare Fund
• Universal Credit
• Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment and other Social Security Scotland benefits
• Employment & Support Allowance

We also have a range of web pages dedicated to household circumstances including:

• Benefits for families
• Benefits for carers
• Benefits for older people
• Benefits for people who are terminally ill
• Benefits for people who are unfit for work/disabled

Who is accessing our service and from which parts of the area?

*Figures are subject to rounding

57% of our referrals are from out with Perth City Centre.

Most of the referrals from these areas have remained consistent over the last few years with the exception of Perth City North, traditionally, we would receive the highest level of referrals from this ward. Referrals have dipped by 4% compared to last year..

Referrals to our service remain high and we believe that this is due to the combined effect of the following:

• The current Cost of Living Crisis and,
• A series of talks, training and presentations throughout 2022/23 and 2023/24 as we had the capacity and the ability (that we didn't during the Coronavirus Emergency due to significantly increased demands, less capacity and public health restrictions) to actively promote our service and,
• The administration of the Financial Insecurity Fund

The Welfare Rights Team is the only advice agency in the Perth and Kinross area that provides vital representation at benefit appeal Tribunals. 

We are accredited to the Scottish Government's National Standards Quality Assurance Framework for Advice and Information Providers and have the highest level of accreditation at Type III for all benefits issues.

This means that we are accredited to represent people at First tier and Upper-tier benefit appeal Tribunals. We can also represent in court and at some civil hearings, mainly housing cases.

• 3.1 Administrative Structure of the Benefits and Tax Credits Systems
• 3.2 National Insurance Scheme
• 3.3 Claims and Backdating
• 3.4 Decision-Making, Disputes and Appeals
• 3.5 Benefit and Tax Credit Overpayments
• 4.1 Means-Tested Benefits
• 4.2 (a) Universal Credit
• 4.2 (b) Housing element of UC, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction
• 4.3 Tax Credits
• 4.4 The Social Fund and the Scottish Welfare Fund
• 4.5 The Impact of Work on Benefits
• 4.6 Child Element of Universal Credit, Child Benefit, Kinship Care Allowance and Guardian's Allowance
• 4.7 State Retirement Pension
• 4.8 Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance and Attendance Allowance
• 4.9 Benefits for People who have Limited Capability for Work
• 4.10 Benefits for Industrial Injury and Disease
• 4.11 Benefits for Veterans
• 4.12 Carer's Allowance
• 4.13 Jobseeker's Allowance
• 4.14 Benefits for Maternity, Paternity and Adoption
• 4.15 Bereavement Benefits
• 4.16 Benefits for People in Public Care
• 4.17 Benefits for Students
• 4.18 Benefits for People from Abroad and/or who are Subject to Immigration Control
• 4.19 Ancillary Benefits

We subscribe to and are members of Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG), National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA) and Rights Advice Scotland (RAS). We have the breadth and depth of knowledge required to support our citizens in the way that best suits their needs and to the highest standard.

Last financial year we received 8,022 referrals this was a 7% increase on last financial year. 6,094 of these referrals were new to the service. We also received 579 general enquiries that were not recorded against a household. These enquiries were mainly from support workers looking for general information about topics that may affect a wide range of the people they are supporting.

This is the first year that people referring themselves is lower than services referring people to us and we believe that this is attributable to the amount of awareness raising we have been doing over the last couple of years with internal and external services.

How people contact the service

• Referrals made via online form: 42% (3125 referrals were received and 2053 of these were submitted by Perth & Kinross Council teams).
• Referrals made via telephone: 34%
• Referrals made via email: 20%
• Referrals made face-to-face (outreach and office visits): 2%

The remaining referrals were made via letter and social media.

Last financial year, August and November were our busiest months and we assume this is due to children returning to school after the holidays and the run up to Christmas.

3,727 households referred themselves last year and this gives us confidence that people know where to come for advice, assistance and representation. 55% made contact via telephone and 40% via online methods (form and email). The remaining initial contacts included methods such as face-to-face at outreach surgeries, office visits and social media.

Overall, online methods of initial contact far outweigh any other method and this is due to the fact that most people prefer to access our service using discreet channels of communication.

More referrals were made by agencies (collectively) than by self-referrals for the first year on record. The services/agencies that make the highest volume of referrals are the Scottish Welfare Fund, Social Work colleagues, Health and Housing this has been consistent over the past 5 years.

50% of referrals were classed as "No Further Action", this does not mean however that no advice was provided it could mean that no assistance was required beyond the initial advice because the household was able to undertake the necessary actions (usually benefit claims) without our assistance. It could mean that we made onward referral to a more suitable support service or it could mean that there was no further action required following our initial assessment.

The other half of the referrals we received required advice and/or assistance beyond the initial contact.

The most complex cases are allocated to individual workers for ongoing casework. Casework is allocated on a geographical basis unless the case should be allocated to a worker on a particular project (Welfare Rights Officers that work on projects tend to cover the whole of the Perth and Kinross area).

Geographical case allocations are as follows:

• Blairgowrie & Coupar Angus
• Highland
• Kinross
• Crieff and Auchterarder
• Perth

Anyone contacting the team is offered a comprehensive welfare benefits check to establish whether or not they are missing out on entitlements.

We provide a consultancy role to colleagues within and out with the Council when developing strategies to ensure that consideration is given to the impact of any new policies on those in receipt of benefits and low incomes, including:

• Child Poverty Strategy
• Local Housing Strategy
• Fuel Poverty Strategy (PDF, 968 KB)
• Carers Strategy

We also provide responses to UK and Scottish Government consultations on behalf of the Council on all aspects of the benefits system and contribute to other consultations to ensure that a rights-based approach is included in any responses.

We generated £8.5m in additional income for Perth and Kinross residents through the benefits system.  This figure comprises Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Social Security Scotland (SSS) benefits, Council Tax Reduction and Council Tax discounts, exemptions and disregards where we have provided advice.

This figure does not include the income we generated via our involvement with Financial Insecurity Fund payments, Crisis Grants, Community Care Grants and Discretionary Housing Payments.

This is a 31% increase on last financial year when we generated £6.5m in benefit gains.

£8.5m in benefit gains and 8,022 referrals is an average household benefit gain of £1,060.

The total amount of benefit gains as a direct result of representation at appeal was £681k (this figure does not include any further benefit entitlement that may be awarded in addition to the benefits paid following successful appeal).

What are benefit gains?

The benefit gains that we report are only a proportion of the actual benefits that we identify missing from household incomes throughout the year and this is because we only report on "verified" benefit gains that is, benefits that clients confirm have actually been paid to them. 

We aim to provide a true a reflection of the impact we have had on households that is auditable and stands up to scrutiny.  Therefore, any benefit gains we publish are under-reported and this is because we concentrate our efforts on meeting demand and targeting resources at those most in need.

Many households are able to follow through on our advice without further assistance and many clients disengage once their situation is resolved to a level that they find sufficient.

The benefit gains that we have reported are in respect of 1,056 households.  This means that there were 2,762 households that have either not yet had decisions made on their benefit claims or we have not been able to engage with them to establish whether or not claims were successful.

Our Welfare Rights Team - Facts and Figures page has information on income generated via advice and representation for previous years.

The Welfare Rights Team is the only advice agency offering a full tribunal representation service within the Perth and Kinross area.

The team can appeal to both the First-tier and Upper-tier Tribunals as necessary.

Last year we represented at 80 benefit appeals, a 34% reduction in the number of appeals compared to last financial year.  Our success rate at appeal was 89% which is an improvement on last financial year when our success rate was 81%.

The total amount of benefit gains as a direct result of representation at appeal was £681k (this figure does not include any further benefit entitlement that may be awarded in addition to the benefits paid following successful appeal).

The benefits appealed included Attendance Allowance, Adult Disability Payment, Carer's Allowance, Child Disability Payment, Employment & Support Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Scottish Child Payment and Universal Credit.

The three benefits with the highest number of appeals were:

• Personal Independence Payment
• Universal Credit
• Adult Disability Payment

Further information on challenging benefit decisions can be found on our dedicated webpages.

Tribunal representation is highly intensive work but is unavoidable when income maximisation is one of the main goals of the service.

Tribunal cases involve taking evidence from the appellant and other witnesses, studying of the Respondent's (the DWP, Tax Credit Office or other benefit authority) legal and factual submissions prior to appeal, collecting supporting evidence from third parties, preparing the appellant (client) for the hearing itself, preparing case law arguments and written submissions for the hearing and representation and advocacy on behalf of the appellant on the day of the hearing.

It may also subsequently involve appealing further to the Upper-tier Tribunal or exploring other forms of legal remedy following the hearing.

Steps are often taken to resolve factual or legal points at either the claim stage or review stages of a case but often cases need to be heard at tribunal before a correct, fully informed decision can be made.

There is no tribunal venue within the Perth and Kinross area.

The team therefore represent at hearings across two venues:

• Dundee
• Stirling

The venue is determined by the postcode of the appellant.

As well as representing at tribunals in person we also represent at hearings held remotely via telephone or via video link.

We always aim to resolve benefits issues at the lowest possible level by gathering evidence and submitting this to the relevant decision-making body in advance of the appeal hearing. Resolution at a lower level avoids attendance at an appeal hearing and therefore reduces anxiety and stress for our clients as well as being less costly to the taxpayer.

Challenging benefit decisions case studies

Case Study 1

Richard was a pensioner with mental health difficulties, COPD and back pain.

Living on his own in a PKC property.

He contacted Welfare Rights in relation to an overpayment of Employment Support Allowance of £5000 that DWP had said accrued due to him continuing to receive the Severe Disability Premium within income-related Employment & Support Allowance when he was not entitled.

Richard's allocated Welfare Rights Officer established the DWP were wrong, he was entitled to the Severe Disability Premium and had not been overpaid however the decision had been made in 2019 so he was out with the time to challenge it through the Mandatory Reconsideration and Appeal process.

Richard's worker instead wrote to Employment Support Allowance on his behalf asking for an anytime revision of their decision which was successful. The decision was changed in Richard's favour and the entire overpayment of £5000 was cancelled.

Case Study 2

Bonnie was living on her own in a 2-bedroom PKC property.

She suffers from anxiety and depression.

She contacted Welfare Rights because her application for Adult Disability Payment had been refused.

She was advised how to request a redetermination and that if that was unsuccessful, we would help with an appeal.

Bonnie was receiving Universal Credit and had been awarded Limited Capability for Work some months before contacting Welfare Rights.

She was still in time to challenge this decision with a view to being awarded Limited Capability for Work Related Activity and an increase in her Universal Credit entitlement.

We emailed her a message to put on her journal asking for a late Mandatory Reconsideration.

As she was living on her own in a 2-bedroom council property Bonnie was affected by the bedroom tax so we also assisted her with a Discretionary Housing Payment application.

Bonnie's Adult Disability Payment redetermination was successful and she was awarded the Standard Rate of the Daily Living component and we advised her of the ancillary entitlements such as the companion bus pass and cinema card she was entitled to as a result.

Bonnie's application for Discretionary Housing Payment was also successful which meant her full rent was now covered.

Bonnie's Universal Credit late Mandatory Reconsideration was unsuccessful, an appeal was lodged and she was allocated a Welfare Rights Officer to represent through that process.

Upon receiving Universal Credit's response to the appeal Bonnie contacted us to say having read their reasons for the decision she agreed with it and no longer wished to appeal. She felt it wouldn't be worthwhile and felt overwhelmed at the thought of having to attend a hearing.

Bonnie's allocated Welfare Rights Officer read Universal Credit's response to the appeal and concluded there was case law that supported her being awarded Limited Capability for Work Related Activity and from experience there was a likelihood the tribunal would overturn the decision without a hearing taking place.

Bonnie decided to pursue appeal following a conversation with her allocated Welfare Rights Officer.

The appeal was successful with the tribunal overturning the decision without the need for a hearing.  Bonnie was awarded Limited Capability for Work Related Activity which increased her Universal Credit by £90.01 per week with arrears of £5400 paid to her.

At the time of appeal Bonnie had just become a Kinship Carer.  Her Welfare Rights Officer assisted with a successful application for Scottish Child Payment (£25 per week), advised on getting an increase in her Universal Credit Housing Costs (£10.22 per week) and informing the Scottish Welfare Fund that she no longer required Discretionary Housing Payment.

Bonnie's case remains open for possible assistance with a Child Disability Payment application for the child in her care.

Case Study 3

Rachela is a Polish national with pre-settled status.  She was living with her partner who also had pre-settled status and their 2 sons aged 11 and 6 months.

She was initially allocated a Welfare Rights Officer to assist her with challenging the decision to refuse her entitlement to Council Tax Reduction and with a new claim.

It transpired she also had a Universal Credit decision at Mandatory Reconsideration stage where Universal Credit had deducted more income from Rachela's entitlement than they should have so an appeal against that was also lodged.

Challenging the Council Tax Reduction decision and the new application were both successful with a backdated award made.

The Universal Credit appeal was lapsed with a decision made in Rachela's favour.

Rachela's youngest son was born prematurely and had related health problems and she had applied for Child Disability Payment, her Welfare Rights Officer kept her case open pending a decision on this.

Rachela's circumstances changed while waiting on this decision as she became a lone parent and she had subsequent issues with her Universal Credit that her Welfare Rights Officer assisted her with.

Rachela was renting privately and her Universal Credit did not cover the total cost of her rent so she was also advised to apply for Discretionary Housing Payment which was awarded.

Rachela's son's Child Disability Payment was refused and she was assisted to request a redetermination which was also refused.

Rachela's Welfare Rights Officer helped her lodge an appeal against the refusal.

In their response to the appeal Social Security Scotland changed their position and were recommending the Tribunal award the Middle Rate of the Care Component because of Rachela's son's night-time needs.

Rachela and her Welfare Rights Officer agreed that her son also had daytime needs and an award of the Higher Rate of the Care Component should be pursued so a written submission was prepared and sent to the Tribunal requesting that.

Rachela's appeal was successful without her having to give evidence. As at the start of the hearing Social Security Scotland changed their position again, after reviewing the evidence and written submission they now accepted the Higher Rate of the Care Component should have been awarded and the Tribunal agreed.

Rachela was awarded £101.75 per week with arrears of £7224.25.

The award of the Higher Rate of the Care Component of Child Disability Payment also entitled Rachela to awards of the Higher Disabled Child Element and Carer Element on Universal Credit totalling £642.75 with a backdated payment of £10,531.21.

Rachela was also advised she could claim Carers Support Payment which would be deducted from Universal Credit pound for pound and if backdated would create a Universal Credit overpayment but going forward would mean she would be better off by the amount of the Carers Allowance Supplement.

Rachela was also advised of her son's entitlement to a companion bus pass and cinema card through his Child Disability Payment award.

The Welfare Fund Team is responsible for the administration of the Scottish Welfare Fund (Crisis Grants and Community Care Grants) as well as Discretionary Housing Payments on behalf of the Scottish Government. Since the creation of the Scottish Welfare Fund in 2013, the purpose of the Fund has been to provide statutory, emergency assistance to low-income households experiencing financial crisis and to support low-income households to maintain independent living.

We have a statutory duty to deliver the service in such a way that we look beyond the presenting issues and to tackle the root cause of the crisis (finding longer-term sustainable solutions for households) whilst also meeting the short-term need. Both of these components are of equal importance for households.

The Scottish Welfare Fund was therefore strategically placed alongside the Welfare Rights Team in 2013 to ensure a seamless flow of crisis intervention and preventative work. Crisis intervention and advice wrapped around our customers should they agree to take up the offer of both.

As part of the Council's Programme of Transformation, the "Money Hub" was created from 1^st June 2023 which saw all contacts in respect of crisis caused by financial hardship transferred back to the Scottish Welfare Fund Team so that a specialist advisor is on-hand at the first point of contact. This included the transfer of the "Community Assistance" line which was created during the coronavirus pandemic to assist those that required food assistance (those shielding etc) to make seamless referrals to community groups and foodbanks.

The aim of this transformation project is to ensure that the residents of Perth and Kinross Council in financial crisis have consistent access to a specialist advisor at the first point of contact. The team takes a rights-based and cash-first approach to all customer contact ensuring that residents are aware of their statutory entitlements as opposed to being referred for in-kind food assistance as a first response to crisis. A cash-first approach is a more dignified approach to crisis intervention than in-kind food assistance and we have a statutory duty placed on us by Scottish Government to both promote the Welfare Fund and to deliver the Welfare Fund using a holistic approach ensuring that the correct financial support is provided and not simply a reactive Crisis Grant award, examples of this include, other payments delivered by the local authority that the household has not claimed or refunding a credit from a Council Tax account, there are many occasions when Crisis Grants are refused because the household can be lifted out of crisis that negates the need for a Crisis Grant. We are actively contributing to the Scottish Government's Scottish Welfare Fund 22 point Action Plan and were instrumental in contributing toward it's development as we are one of three local authorities that were selected to represent all local authorities on both the Scottish Welfare Fund Advisory Board and the subsequent Scottish Welfare Fund Statutory Guidance Committee.

In terms of the 22 Point Action Plan we:

• Actively participate in the SWF Practitioner's Forum.
• All of our decision letters signpost to tailored holistic support, however, we go further by offering seamless referral (and have done so since 2013).
• Have publicity materials in a range of languages (hard copy and social media).
• Prioritise grant applications based on vulnerability, including people being released from prison, people in homeless hostels and families with dependent children.
• Do not use the under 25 daily rate for Crisis Grants (we haven't since 2016).
• Have continued to use the covid-19 SWF daily rates rather than reduce these in-line with current benefit amounts.
• Only request evidence once all internal sources of evidence have been exhausted.

Throughout 2023/24 the Welfare Fund Team made 686 referrals to the Welfare Rights Team for benefits advice, assistance and representation. As with the overall trend of referrals, around half of the households assessed were in receipt of their full entitlements at the time of referral. Of the households where there were entitlements missing we know that a minimum of 99 households, so far, have had benefits paid (149 benefit claims) to them to the total sum of £651,136.73 in verified benefit gains. The combined effect of limited resources, household non-engagement once crisis alleviated and delays with benefit decisions means that we are confident that this figure should/will be much higher with the passage of time.

All customers are encouraged to apply for Crisis Grants as a first response to their crisis and that allows us to explore longer-term sustainable solutions for households with a view to preventing crisis at a future time as well as to prevent unnecessary demand on foodbanks and community groups. A Crisis Grant application results in a robust assessment of household need to ensure that the right advice is given at the right time using a best value approach. This rights-based and cash-first way of working seeks to achieve the following:

• To ensure access to cash as a more dignified response to crisis. Crisis Grants are a statutory cash-first approach to crisis intervention that follow a robust assessment of household circumstances.
• To ensure that households are offered referrals to the Welfare Rights Team/Citizen's Advice Bureau/Employability Service and other onward referrals to support services in order to minimise the likelihood of further crisis via longer-term sustainable solutions for households.  Last year of the 173 households we seamlessly referred to Perth CAB, 76 of them were in respect of fuelbank vouchers.
• To promote household independence by preventing unnecessary demand on foodbanks and community groups.

During 2022/23 Crisis Grant demand was as follows:

Last financial year (2023/24) Crisis Grant demand was as follows:

2023/24 saw a 13% increase in Crisis Grant demand and simultaneously there was a 29% reduction in referrals to the main foodbanks in the area. Crisis Grants tide households over until their next payment date and this can be up to 28 days, where as foodbank parcels normally only tide households over for 3 days so households are supported throughout their crisis meaning they do not have to make repeat contact for assistance which reduces referrals to foodbanks.

Welfare Fund referrals to Perth and Blairgowrie foodbanks are shown below for the past two financial years:

Perth and Blairgowrie foodbanks are reporting a 4% reduction in referrals for food overall compared to last financial year.

Minimising referrals to foodbanks and community groups and encouraging Crisis Grant applications means that we can tide households over until their next payment of income. A foodbank referral aims to tide a household over for 3 days where as a Crisis Grant award can tide a household over for up to 28 days, thus preventing repeat referrals to foodbanks and community groups for the same household within the same payment period. This approach is most likely to ensure that households have access to quality benefits advice and income maximisation that may prevent future crisis by ensuring that all entitlements are in place.

The Welfare Fund and Welfare Rights Teams work together at all times but especially at times of high demand to minimise the risk of any vulnerable households going without. We can therefore report that during 2023/24, the Welfare Rights Team made 243 FIF payments the same day that the household applied, we direct our resources during times of greatest demand to prevent delays in getting cash to vulnerable households, to alleviate pressure on the Welfare Fund Team (especially during periods of high demand e.g. August and January), to prevent demand on foodbanks and community groups and to make the best use of the resources available.

Foodbank outreach and Liaison

An integral part of our crisis intervention and prevention work is an on-site outreach at Perth and Kinross Foodbank. Since October 2023, the Welfare Rights Team has provided a weekly outreach surgery at Perth Foodbank premises, this has allowed us a fantastic opportunity for partnership working reducing barriers for customers, raising awareness and improving access to both Welfare Fund and Welfare Rights services. We extended the outreach to two days a week from March 2024 to provide an enhanced service to the Romanian community. Access to both services also ensures onward referrals to other relevant services for support and assistance. The Welfare Rights Officer acts as a liaison between the Foodbank, the Welfare Fund Team and the Welfare Rights Team to bring together all of the components parts that successfully achieve both the crisis response and the longer-term sustainable outcomes that we seek.

32 households have received welfare rights advice and access to Crisis Grants following our weekly presence at the Foodbank premises in Perth. The majority of referrals are for single households and minority ethnic family households. The most common reasons for foodbank referral and advice is benefit sanction and people not claiming the appropriate level of Universal Credit for their circumstances which means that they are more likely to be sanctioned. EEA Nationals with no settled or no pre-settled status is another group that we regularly capture during outreach and we are often able to provide a cash-first response to those households (that tend to be households with dependent children) via the FIF scheme.

Welfare Fund and Foodbank outreach case studies

Samina was referred to Welfare Rights Team by Scottish Welfare Fund Team, she is Asian and was fleeing a domestic abuse situation while pregnant.

We supported her to claim Council Tax Reduction, Single Person's Discount on her Council Tax liability, Universal Credit (UC) and Discretionary Housing Payment (the latter until her baby was born).

We also assisted with an application for the Best Start Grant.

When baby was born we claimed Child Benefit, Scottish Child Payment and added her baby onto her UC claim.

There were challenges regarding the her Child Benefit claim due to her evidence around her immigration status so this was delayed, however, we managed to overcome these issues in the end.

Samina was also awarded a Welfare Trust payment of £230, a Community Care Grant in respect of furnishings and flooring and a Financial Insecurity Fund payment of £330.

When Samina was referred to us she had no money other than a Crisis Grant that had been awarded.

Following our involvement her weekly income was as follows:

Universal Credit - £147.30 per week (£638.32 arrears)

Child Benefit - £24 per week (£528 arrears).

Scottish Child Payment - £25 per week (£250 arrears).

Best Start Grant - £707.25 one-off payment.

Best Start Foods - £34 per week during pregnancy (£340 arrears).

No rent to pay.

Patrick

Patrick presented at the foodbank from a rural location looking for a food parcel. He had hitchhiked into Perth due to not having any funds because of a Universal Credit (UC) sanction which came about, in part, due to his mobile phone being broken. He was unable to maintain contact with his UC Work Coach or to update his UC Journal. When he arrived at the foodbank it quickly became apparent that he hadn't been referred for food and so the Welfare Rights Officer offered to submit a Crisis Grant application for him, along with an application to the Welfare Trust to help him get a mobile phone and some clothes. A foodbank referral was also organised along with a bus ticket to get him back home safely.

The Welfare Rights Officer requested a fast-track of his Crisis Grant application so that he would not have to come into Perth from his rural location without any funds again (Patrick's bank account was overdrawn so he could not be paid by electronic bank transfer). He was awarded a Crisis Grant to tide him over the next 14 days and this was paid via PayPoint voucher which he could redeem at any PayPoint outlet. He was also awarded £200 from the Welfare Trust within a few days of his first contact with us, allowing him to buy a phone and some new clothes. The phone allows him to keep his UC Journal up-to-date and gives him more freedom and the ability to stay connected from his rural location.

He was also awarded a £100 one-off payment from the Financial Insecurity Fund to help with the additional costs associated with living rurally. The Welfare Rights Team helped Patrick to challenge his UC sanction decision which was over-turned and we also advised him to submit a fit note to DWP because of his health conditions. He was also assisted to make a claim for Adult Disability Payment. Following our advice, Patrick had gone from having no income due to sanction, no mobile phone and one change of outdoor clothes to his UC being reinstated with additional income following our involvement as below:

Universal Credit was was reinstated following a favourable sanction decision and increased the amount he was paid from £393.45/month to £747.73/month due to his health condition and UC awarding him the Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity (LCWRA) element which reduced the conditions on his UC claim and means that he will be less likely to be sanctioned in the future. This is likely to mean less chance of financial crisis in the future too for Patrick and less reliance on Crisis Grants and foodbanks/community groups as a result.

Adult Disability Payment was awarded at :£24.45/week with back-dated benefit of £562.35 paid.

Lila

Lila presented at the foodbank following referral from the JobCentre Plus, the Welfare Rights Officer helped her to apply for a Crisis Grant and an award was made for 9 days until her next benefit payment, she'd fallen into crisis because she'd be trying to make payments towards her rent to prevent her landlord taking steps to evict her. He also helped her to apply for a Financial Insecurity Fund payment to help with her rent arrears. It was identified that she was not getting the housing element within her Universal Credit, leading to her arrears. It was quickly apparent that this should not have been the case and she was missing out on hundreds of pounds a month.

English is not Lila's first language so it was important to make sure she was understanding everything that was going on so all communication with Lila was undertaken via Language Line. In the beginning, DWP stated that Lila was at fault for not reporting her housing costs correctly. After months of back and forth with Universal Credit, Lila was found to have done everything correctly. She was therefore awarded over £4000 in backdated UC Housing Costs that had been unpaid for over a year. She now receives the correct benefits and has paid her rent arrears that were not her fault. No Financial Insecurity Fund payment was required because Lila's rent arrears were paid in full by UC once we challenged the DWP decision on Lila's UC entitlement.

Testimonial from Perth and Kinross Foodbank Manager

"Perth and Kinross Foodbanks are facing unprecedented levels of demand - both in terms of client numbers and the complexity of presentations.  Having a member of the Welfare Rights Team conducting outreach at our premises has been invaluable; facilitating direct access between worried and distressed clients experiencing food and financial insecurity, with empathetic and knowledgeable advisors who put them at ease and highlight opportunities/means of mitigating their stresses and pressures.  Knowing an advisor is present gives our team the confidence to instigate exploratory conversations, directly linking our clients to a source of support in a timely manner.  We have had clients report a sense of relief and huge appreciation for the non-judgemental and assets based approach they have experienced.  

A huge thank you, on behalf of the Foodbank team, for the time and dedication you demonstrate week on week to aid not only our clients, but our team and broader organisation, as we actively promote a cash first approach and the need to the end reliance on Foodbanks"

Lori Hughes, Foodbank Manager

Transformation

Consolidating all things financially-related into one area allows us to make the best use of public money and reduces the scope for replication and duplication of services. It also means direct access to a specialist advisor who will undertake a robust assessment of household circumstances before making a decision or giving advice. This change has been achieved despite no additional resources and despite an increase in workload however improved partnership working with foodbanks and community groups and our Partners, generally, including schools, prisons, Community Justice, Housing Support, Social Work teams, Aberlour, Perth CAB and Health has allowed us to take a much more preventative approach.

We will continue to work with foodbank and community group referral agents, as we have during 2023/24, to divert referrals away from foodbanks and community groups to the Welfare Fund to ensure that robust assessment takes place, so that households are offered and provided with the right advice at the right time and to ensure that those in greatest need are provided with a dignified and rights-based approach to crisis support.

So what next?

Our Scottish Welfare Fund Team will be delivering outreach sessions at Perth and Glenochil in the coming year and this will be a first in Scotland, having a decision maker on hand to assist people in prison with all things Welfare Fund-related as an early intervention and prevention mechanism.

We will also be referral agents for the Babybank from May 2024.

Partnership working is at the heart of all that we do. We would like to thank all of our Partners for their support. It would not be possible to reach as many households as we do were it not for the ongoing efforts and collaborative work that takes place each and every day across all sectors in Perth & Kinross.

Child poverty

We have a statutory duty to report on the income maximisation activities we undertake in respect of households with dependent children.

Throughout the last financial year we provided advice and assistance to 1,734 families with dependent children. Of those, we can report a minimum of £2.5m in additional income to these families. This is an average household gain of £1440.

The areas of our work that specifically centres around children and families includes our seamless referral service with Midwives, Health Visitors and Family Nurses; our partnership working with Aberlour, our work with schools and our seamless referral service around Kinship Carers.

Maternity Services, Health Visiting and Family Nurse Partnership

Since 2017, following a test of change pilot with the Improvement Service, we receive seamless, online referrals from midwives, Health Visitors and the Family Nurse Partnership.

Last year we received 177 referrals from these Healthcare practitioners which resulted in £290k in benefit gains for the families referred. An average of £1638 per family.

We deliver talks and presentations to these practitioners on an on-going basis to ensure that we raise awareness of the service we provide and to promote the difference that we can make to low-income families.

Case study

A couple, with two children referred by Health Visitor via our online seamless referral agreement. The family were living in a Council property in Letham. Dad, Rab has severe mental health problems, and the family's entitlement to additional Universal Credit reflects this (Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity element). Mum, Jasmine had to attend Work Focussed Interviews at the time of referral. They have two children, Johnny and Tommy both under 5 years old. One of their boys had a diagnosis of Autism.

The case was allocated to our Families Worker to assist with Adult and Child Disability Payment claims that we'd identified as missing following a comprehensive benefit check.

At the time of referral their weekly income was £553.83 made up of:

• Universal Credit (including £115 to cover rent) of £463.93
• Child Benefit of £39.90
• Scottish Child Payment of £50

Both disability benefit claims were successful. Rab was awarded Adult Disability Payment Standard Daily Living at £68.10 per week with a £1979 backdate payment and son Johnny awarded Child Disability Payment of Middle Rate Care also £68.10 per week with a £1503 backdate payment.

These awards allowed Jasmine to claim Carers Allowance for looking after Tommy. This meant that she no longer had any Universal Credit conditions to satisfy (she didn't have to attend Work-Focussed Interviews due to her caring responsibilities being acknowledged by Carers Allowance being in Payment).

These awards increased the family's income by £211.78 per week.

When contacting the family to establish the outcome of their claims, Jasmine advised that Tommy was also being assessed for autism. We assisted with a further Child Disability Payment claim and Tommy was also awarded at Highest Rate Care and Higher Rate Mobility with benefit arrears of £3666.

Following our involvement the family's weekly income has almost doubled from £553.83 per week to £1102 per week, increasing their weekly income by £546.60.

The family will also be paid the Winter Heating Assistance annual payment of £251.50 and Jasmine will receive the Carers Allowance supplement bi-annual payment of £288.60 (£577.20 per year).

Aberlour - Tayside Hardship Project 

During 2021/22 we established a partnership with Aberlour and our Tayside counterparts to provide a comprehensive and enhanced welfare rights service to vulnerable families with dependent children. 

Last year, through our formal referral agreement with Aberlour 11 families with children on the "edge of care" were referred to us for comprehensive benefits advice and assistance.

We made payments to the value of £3k from the Financial Insecurity Fund to these families and they benefited from almost £3k in additional income with an average household benefit gain of £272.

In addition, we are now delivering a programme of training sessions around Reducing Council Tax Liability in partnership with our colleagues in Aberlour to frontline agencies across Perth and Kinross. We kicked the programme off in March 2024 and these will continue throughout 2024/25.

Testimonial from Aberlour

"PKC Welfare Rights have demonstrated exceptional expertise and passion in raising awareness of financial strategies aimed at alleviating the burden of debt and financial hardship on the families we support.

Their commitment to empowering individuals and families with practical knowledge on maximizing income and accessing available resources has been instrumental in our shared mission of providing holistic support. PKC Welfare Rights collaborative approach, coupled with their deep understanding of the challenges faced by vulnerable families, has undoubtedly made a significant impact on the lives of those we serve.

We are immensely grateful for PKC Welfare Right's invaluable contributions to our partnership and look forward to continuing our impactful work together in the future"

Richard Lister, Financial Wellbeing Co-ordinator, Aberlour

Kinship Carers

Established in 2015, our Kinship Care Seamless Referral Process in partnership with our colleagues in Children & Families Service seeks to ensure that all kinship carers have access to the correct benefits advice, assistance and representation as well as to ensure that they receive the correct financial support from the Local Authority. We also identify kinship carers who are missing out and refer them to Children & Families for additional support.

Last year we supported 61 kinship care families.

The partnership generated £141k for the families with an average of £2,311 for each household.

We also assisted the Kinship Care Team to undertake their annual reassessment of Kinship Care payments to by offering comprehensive advice and assistance to all Kinship care families in order to ensure they were receiving the correct Department for Work and Pensions and Social Security Scotland benefit entitlements, therefore allowing the Kinship Care Team to ensure that the correct level of relevant Kinship Care payment was also being paid.

Case study

Marie was referred to us by the Kinship Team as a Residence Order had been granted for the 4 children in her care.

At the time of referral she had income-related Employment & Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction in payment along with Kinship payments.

Marie's change of circumstances triggered a claim for Universal Credit (becoming responsible for the children in her care, we assisted with claims for Universal Credit, Child Benefit and Scottish Child Payment.

Marie needed birth certificates for Child Benefit to be paid so we supported her to obtain these.

Her eldest grandson suffered from debilitating anxiety so we helped her to claim Child Disability Payment (CDP). Daniel was attending Navigate as he could not cope with mainstream schooling. We await the outcome of the CDP claim.

We also assisted with a CDP claim for her youngest grandson because he struggles with emotional issues and ongoing trauma from serious neglect.

A further CDP claim is to be completed for one of the other children who has similar mental health problems.

Marie also has some physical and mental health problems fibromyalgia and we've identified that Adult Disability Payment should be in payment for her however she's adamant that she wants us to concentrate our efforts on her grandchildren first while she considers the claim for herself.

There are on-going housing issues as the family are living in overcrowded conditions which compounds all of the issues. This is being co-ordinated by both Housing and Social Work colleagues.

We await the results of the benefit claims that have been made, however, to this date the household has benefitted from a Welfare Trust payment of £500 and a Financial Insecurity Fund payment of £500.

Macmillan

Macmillan Cancer Support funds the Welfare Rights Team to provide an enhanced Welfare Rights service to people affected by cancer throughout Perth and Kinross. 

This enhanced service includes:

• undertaking benefit checks
• arranging for benefits to be claimed and forms completed
• lodging benefit appeals and representation at appeal tribunals
• providing basic money/debt advice
• giving advice on any other available support that may be available.

Last year we assisted 461 clients affected by cancer which is a 10% increase in people affected by cancer using our service.

Our involvement resulted in £2.4m in benefit gains for those clients which is a 60% increase in benefit gains for clients affected by cancer. This is an average of £5,200 per client.

Macmillan case study

We received a referral from Cornhill Macmillan Centre for a mixed age couple (this means that one partner is pension-age and the other is working-age).

The Macmillan Nurse explained that the couple (Mr & Mrs Cross) were reluctant to be referred for advice because he had been working cash-in-hand latterly and had not been submitting self-assessments. He was doing small jobs here and there every so often and so felt that he would have no entitlement to any benefits. Unfortunately, Mr Cross was diagnosed terminally-ill due to cancer.

Following advice from The Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer, Mr Cross reluctantly agreed to apply for Attendance Allowance and a Blue Badge as they were currently living off of what limited savings they had left. After many lengthy discussions with Mr Cross he also eventually agreed to make a claim for State Pension, we explained that he would have qualified 12 years ago and so should expect a substantial amount to be paid to him under the State Pension deferment rules whereby he could take a lump sum amount or a higher weekly amount.

The Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer met with the couple and contacted the Department for Work and Pensions to stress the urgency around the State Pension claim and the fact that Mr Cross would like to take up the lump-sum payment due to his circumstances. The Department for Work and Pensions reassured the Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer that a decision would be made quickly and that Mrs Cross would be paid in the unfortunate event that Mr Cross passed away. The Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer reassured Mr Cross that the likelihood was that his lump-sum would be significant and that if any tax was owed that this could be paid from his lump-sum. Mr Cross felt instant relief after having lived in fear for many years.

A claim for Carer Support Payment was also made for Mrs Cross in respect of her caring for Mr Cross.

Unfortunately, Mr Cross passed away a month prior to receiving his lump-sum payment. Mrs Cross received a backdated sum of £97k following numerous contacts with the Department for Work and Pensions where the situation had to be explained over and over again to different departments. Adding to the frustration and stress at a time when she was grieving the loss of her husband, Mrs Cross was also refused Carers Support Payment which we have also challenged and await a decision.

Testimonials from Cancer Nurse Specialists (CNS) and Improving the Cancer Journey service (ICJ)

"I have found the service very helpful. The information session they did in the IPU Cornhill was very informative and any time I have made contact they have very promptly contacted the patients I requested. Patients have also fed back to me how helpful they have been when they have spoken to them." (Suzanne CNS)

"Welfare Rights is an invaluable resource. Patients appreciate the support with financial advice at a difficult time in their life when they are often overwhelmed. To have someone support them through the application process and also looking at what they are entitled to, it helps relieve a lot of associated distress and provides a lot of relief particularly in recent months with the rising cost of living. From a professional perspective I always appreciate their advice particularly those scenarios that are less straight forward, they are quick to reply and always helpful." (Katie CNS)

"I have found Welfare Rights Team to be very helpful and supportive towards clients. The team have also been fantastic in providing advice and training to ICJ team and helping us navigate any changes such as transition from DS1500 to SR1. I refer all my clients who have money worries or are looking for advice on benefits to Welfare Rights Team.  Feedback from clients who have been referred to welfare rights service has been very positive. Clients are very pleased that they hear from welfare rights quickly usually within one or two days after being referred. Clients also always praise the help, advice and compassion they have received from the team." (Sian Hislop, Link Worker - Improving the Cancer Journey)

Macmillan Welfare Benefit Group

We attend the weekly Macmillan Welfare Benefit meetings chaired by Macmillan Cancer Support to liaise with other Macmillan funded advice agencies throughout Scotland, which includes our neighbouring authorities, Dundee City Council, Angus Council and Stirling Council. The group is chaired by the Macmillan Partnership Assurance Lead and discussion takes place regarding all aspects of the benefits system.

Social Security Scotland (SSS)

We work in partnership with Social Security Scotland and have done so since its inception in June 2018. The Local Partnership SSS workers are located within our office, and we have a referral process in place whereby they can refer clients to us. The service is complementary to ours providing form-filling assistance and advice on SSS benefits.

Perth & Kinross has been the pilot area for the introduction of Child Disability Payment, Adult Disability Payment and most recently Carers Support Payment.

We were involved in working groups, provided feedback and influenced the approach taken by Social Security Scotland in the rolling out of the benefit.

Feel the pinch campaign 

The Welfare Rights Team are key players in the Council's Feel the Pinch campaign which invites people who may be struggling with the cost of living (especially during winter months) to contact us to ensure that all statutory and other entitlements are in place and to make seamless referrals to other relevant agencies to ensure that the correct measures are in place to reduce the cost of heating homes. 

Joint Welfare Reform Steering Group (JWRSG)

The Welfare Reform Lead Officers (Alan Taylor, Lynn Brady and Nicola Sutherland) provide regular updates to all relevant stakeholders, including elected members, on our progress, impacts, emerging issues (local and national), risks and successes.

The Perth & Kinross Joint Welfare Reform Steering Group (JWRSG), established September 2012, which meets quarterly throughout each year and led by the Welfare Reform Lead Officers (Chair, Alan Taylor), has a wide membership including; cross-service representation, NHS Tayside, DWP, Jobcentre Plus, Registered Social Landlords, Scottish Business in the Communities, Perth CAB and Perth & Kinross Association of Voluntary Service (PKAVS). The JWRSG is responsible for overseeing the implementation of Welfare Reform changes and communication of the same to all relevant stakeholders in our communities.

In order to mitigate the impact of these benefit changes on the people of Perth and Kinross, the Welfare Rights Team offers training and awareness raising sessions around both of these changes to frontline staff.

The JWRSG meetings were suspended in 2021/22 due to other demands placed on the service, however, we have continued to communicate relevant updates to the membership via email. 

Tayside Advice Workers Forum

The forum includes representation from third sector and local authority advice agencies across the three Tayside authorities where we meet to discuss topical issues affecting clients and sharing best practice for our customers.

The forum usually meets quarterly, however due to the increase in demand for our services and retasking of officers during the Covid emergency these meetings have been suspended since 2020/21 and we await confirmation of them recommencing in the new financial year 2024/25.

We have agreed with Perth Citizen's Advice Bureau that we will form an Advice Practitioner's Forum and we will meet on a monthly basis from June 2024 to discuss local and national issues.

We asked particular communities what they needed from us to improve access and reduce barriers.

Working with the Gypsy/Traveller Community

What the community told us - "we're struggling to access advice services"

What we did

The Winter period brought additional financial pressures to households across Perth and Kinross, not least due to cold temperatures and the rising cost of living, including the increased cost of energy/fuel. Most gypsy/travellers are living rurally with no fixed-abode and this too can bring barriers to access. We worked closely with one of the Council's Community Engagement Assistants (Jan Manion), Broke Not Broken, one of the Council's Community Learning & Development Assistants (Zoe Garvie) and the Council's Equalities Team Leader (David McPhee) to remove the barriers Gypsy/Traveller communities in our area experience accessing services by delivering our service in the way that best suited their needs.

We delivered three outreach sessions, specifically targeting Gypsy/Traveller sites (Double Dykes and Green Acres) and a further outreach in a village where many households took up the opportunity of advice and assistance. Where outreach was not possible (Bobbin Mill) but the need was time critical, we used a seamless online process for those households in urgent need. Offering more than one method of access to our service meant that no households willing to take up our offer of advice and assistance missed out.

All but one household were in receipt of their full benefit entitlement however we were able to assist with almost £5k in Financial Insecurity Fund payments paid between 13 households to assist with rural hardship, solid fuel, clothing for children and adults and data packages for mobile phone use to help the community stay connected with extended family in other parts of the country.

Whilst undertaking our comprehensive benefit checks we identified credits on Council Tax accounts for 16 of the households totalling £3,398 and we arranged for refund of these credits to each of these households.

We have a duty incumbent upon us to provide financial assistance to eligible members of the Gypsy/Traveller community via the Scottish Welfare Fund to ensure that we accept community members with no-fixed abode wherever they may be in Scotland.

£1.8k in additional funding was provided to two Gypsy/Traveller Community Groups (Rajpot and Mangin Manashies) to provide food vouchers to community members.

Feedback from Bobbin Mill resident Roseanna McPhee:

It certainly did make a huge difference because - unlike the previous winters-  we did not have to prioritise logs & coal over food.

By the end of winter in recent years, my essential vitamins and minerals were so low from the poor diet that I had extremely sore bones and on taking all of my benefit one week to visit  a physiotherapist/ chiropractor, I was advised that the shape of the ankle / ribs suggested a deficiency in diet (follow up blood tests identified the deficiencies.)

I have recently had my blood tested and this is not the case for the first winter in recent years.

I would therefore say that this help with solid fuel has made a difference in basic health terms; allowing both myself and other older sisters to be able to afford multi- vitamins, fresh food( including butcher meat and fresh fish, which is extremely expensive) and any other supplements, such as menopausal support.

In terms of the fuel grant, I ordered more coal and logs twice and we shared this communally with the others(4 tenants); as well as cracking up the fire in the office chalet where older members were able to go online and use WhatsApps( Internet & signal doesn't work very well in other chalets) to connect over the festive period with an elderly sister, aunt and cousins U.K. wide. This was especially welcome to be able to do this without sitting with blankets/ fleeces on because everyone was trying to struggle through the daytime without the fire on( except on the extremely cold days) and save the fuel for the evening; as was our normal practice in previous years. 

The solid fuel fund therefore made a substantial difference but we were just short of a few hundred pounds for the second round of coal which we bought in Feb. However, it did allow us collectively to save a little bit towards the second coal delivery: normally, most of our food bill for the month is wiped out by the Jan/ Feb coal order.

 The only downside is the size of our fires which meant that heat does not extend to the kitchen/ dinette areas so we have to eat on trays on our sofas directly in front of the stove (2 members of organisations recently visited and ended up putting their long coats on whilst sitting back from the stove, saying that their legs were cold.)

However, I appreciate that is a different issue from the subsistence of solid fuel.

The fuel grant itself was a very welcome lifeline that meant we did not have to prioritise fuel over food this last winter.

So what next for gypsy/travellers and other minority ethnic communities...?

• From May 2024 we will be providing outreach at Gypsy/Traveller sites on a 6-weekly basis at Double Dykes at the request of the community. We are hoping to extend this offer to both Bobbin Mill and Green Acres sites should they feel that this approach best meets their needs.
• We will ensure that all gypsy/travellers resident in our area are aware of the services we provide.
• We will continue to provide financial assistance via the Financial Insecurity Fund to households with no recourse to public funds that are in crisis or who experience rural hardship.
• We will work with our colleagues across the Council and with our Partners (Perth & Kinross Foodbank and Mears) to provide regular, targeted advice and assistance to Asylum Seekers living within our authority to prevent financial crisis during their transition from Asylum Seeker to Refugee status and from the hotel setting to homeless accommodation.
• From June 2024 we will be delivering a fortnightly outreach at 2 Sisters chicken factory in Coupar Angus.

Working with the school community

What the community told us - "help us to help our families that are struggling" 

What we did

Since 2015, the Welfare Rights Team has worked closely with schools, providing written and verbal updates, talks and training to teachers and other workers in schools, including Early Years Practitioners and other members of the Parent and Family Learning Teams, regarding changes to the benefits system and how to refer to our team. We have a seamless referral process in place with all schools and an excellent working relationship with Head Teachers and other teaching staff.

Last financial year we received 85 referrals from schools and almost 50% of these were from our colleagues in the Parent and Family Learning Team:

• 37 of these were from schools out with Perth City.
• 28 were lone parent households.
• 25 of the households had someone with a disability.
• 11 of the households had 3 or more children.
• 7 of the households had someone from an ethnic minority background.
• 2 households had no recourse to public funds.
• 1 household had a child under 12 months.

21 of the referrals led to no further action and so the households were either receiving their full benefit entitlement, they declined a benefit check or they chose not to engage.

The remaining households required advice and assistance from us which, so far, has resulted in just under £44k in additional benefit income for these households with more benefit decisions pending. Most of the benefits we identified as missing related to disability benefits and these decisions can take up to 6 months, some benefit decisions can take up to 18 months when decisions have to be challenged. 28 households were paid payments from the Financial Insecurity Fund to the value of around £15k and some Welfare Trust payments to the value of £2k.

School case studies

Case study 1

We received a referral from the Parent and Family Learning Team to offer Ruby a benefit check because although she was working, due to the cost of living she was struggling financially.

Ruby was living in a mortgaged property with her 2 children.

Following previous contact with us she had been awarded the Higher Rate of the Daily Living and Lower Rate of the Mobility components of Child Disability payment for her eldest.

We advised Ruby of the ancillary entitlements such as a bus pass and cinema card this award brings.

Ruby was working earning approximately £1000 per month and also received Child Benefit for both Children, Universal Credit and Scottish Child Payment.

We undertook a comprehensive benefit check whilst we had Ruby on the phone and we identified that although Scottish Child Payment was in payment it was only being paid for her youngest child so she was missing out on £25 per week. We completed the application with her there and then.

We did a Universal Credit calculation and noticed that she was missing the Higher Rate of the Disabled Child and Carer Elements following her eldest's Child Disability Payment award. So, we emailed Ruby some narrative to put on her Universal Credit journal to have these elements added there and then during the same call.

We also submitted an application to the Financial Insecurity Fund while we had her on the phone.

Following our involvement Ruby was awarded:

• Scottish Child Payment - £25 per week.
• Higher Rate of the Disabled Child and Carer Elements within Universal Credit of an additional £148.33 per week.
• The award of these 2 UC elements was backdated to the date Child Disability Payment was awarded with the arrears of £9937.90 being paid by Universal Credit.
• One-off Financial Insecurity Fund payment of £200 in respect of clothing for her children.

Case study 2

We received a referral from an Early Years Family Inclusion Teacher from a school as a family, living rurally, are struggling financially and their youngest child has development difficulties.

Veronica was a lone parent with 4 children. Mum has back pain, anxiety and depression. 2 of the children have health problems and she provides additional care for her youngest son who is being assessed for autism.

Following contact with the team we established that Veronica's Universal Credit missing the Lower Rate of the Disabled Child element despite the fact one of her children was in receipt of the lowest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment.

At the time the family were referred to the team they were in receipt of Universal Credit, Scottish Child Payment x 4, Child Benefit x 4 and Child Disability Payment (lowest rate of the care component). Universal Credit and Scottish Child Payment of £319.85 per week, Child Benefit of £71.70 per week and Veronica had a single person's discount on her Council Tax liability and she was in receipt of Council Tax Reduction which meant she had only water and sewerage to pay of £6.28 per week.

We assisted Veronica with a Child Disability Payment claim for her youngest son and helped her to construct some narrative to submit via her Universal Credit Journal so that the missing element of Universal Credit could be paid.

Following our involvement the family had additional income as follows:

• Child Disability Payment was awarded in respect of Veronica's youngest son of £101.75 week and a backdated amount of £3663.00.
• Universal Credit Disabled Child Element lower rate of £33.77 per week and a backdated amount of £1463.37.
• Universal Credit Disabled Child Element higher rate of £105.44 per week and a backdated amount of £4,525.73.
• Universal Credit Carers Element of £42.89 per week following the award of the enhanced daily living component of Child Disability Payment and a backdated amount of £1,858.57.

The family also received one off Financial Insecurity Fund payments as follows:

• £200 Rural hardship
• £520 to clear school dinner debt
• £96 Disabled Child Payment
• £450 in respect of clothing for adult and clothing for the children.

Working with people in prison and their families

What the community told us - "we want to avoid being in an immediate crisis when released from prison and we want to know our families will be ok"

What we did

Our work with prisons began early last financial year in collaboration with Scottish Welfare Fund, Community Justice, Scottish Prison Service and Homeless colleagues to provide a seamless transition from the prison setting to a secure tenancy. This enhanced and early intervention service was provided on a pilot basis to some people being released from prison via voluntary throughcare (where the person in prison had served less than a 4-year sentence). This meant that we worked with services to ensure that decisions on Community Care Grants were fulfilled prior to release so that tenancies were signed for and furnished, providing a secure and homely environment.

Our long-term aim is to provide a variety of services from prison establishments including, HMP Perth, HMP Glenochil and Castle Huntly to ensure that people being released have access to cash assistance at the earliest opportunity. Our team members have undertaken the necessary Personal Protection Training in order to deliver within the prison establishment.

Our teams (Welfare Rights and Welfare Fund) will also be attending "Child Impact Assessment Toolkit Champion" Training in May and Trauma-Informed Approach Learning.

The service is being delivered alongside our Welfare Fund colleagues providing advice and assistance to people in prison and their families. We will assist any person in prison with regard to benefits advice and assistance, irrespective of which local authority area they will be released to, however those being released to the Perth and Kinross area will receive an allocated worker and decisions on any local authority administered grants applied for as soon as possible following release.

We aim to ensure that people being released from prison have the best start in the community and to ensure that their families' household incomes are maximised while their family members are in prison. To ensure that the families of people in prison can access support we have a seamless/reciprocal referral process in place with Families Outside.

We continue to work closely with our Community Justice colleagues and the Scottish Prison Service to establish a relationship which has allowed us to deliver two Life Skills sessions to over 20 people in prison.

The welfare rights team have participated in two sessions of HMP Perth's life skills course.  The course has been designed for people who are either due to be liberated, have an upcoming parole board or who are on remand.  We had three welfare rights personnel on the first course and two on the second.  The demand for information on Welfare rights is huge, especially for those getting liberated so the benefit of having more than one member of the team attend the course was fantastic. The team were brilliant at setting an informal tone in each session, delivering information to the whole group and then naturally guiding men on an individual basis which allowed for discreet conversations to ensure that all information could be person centred.  The feedback from course users has been very positive and a better indicator to the effectiveness of the inclusion of Welfare rights has been when the men have gone back to the residential areas and spoken about the session as I have had more men ask about the course for access to the Welfare rights team.

So what next for people in prison and their families...?

• We will continue to deliver our Life Skills course in collaboration with Scottish Prison Service colleagues.
• We will continue to provide an enhanced service to people being released from to secure tenancies.
• We will be delivering outreach surgeries on a regular basis within both HMP Perth and Glenochil establishments.
• We will be working with OWLS to provide advice and assistance to women with the aim of ensuring that entitlements are in place to contribute to our overall aim of preventing re-offending.

Since December 2020 Perth & Kinross Council has delivered Perth & Kinross Council's locally delivered scheme to low-income households to help mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent cost of living crisis on households in our area.

The scheme has been recognised by the Scottish Poverty and Inequality Research Unit (SPIRU) at Glasgow Caledonian University in their Tackling Poverty Locally Online Directory.

Last financial year (2023/24) the FIF made the following payments:

• One-off rural hardship payments.
• Assistance with priority debts (energy, Council Tax, broadband, rent).
• Assistance with oil and solid fuel.
• Assistance in respect of clothing for children over the Winter period.
• Assistance with school dinner and other child-related debts.
• Crisis Grant payments for people with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF).
• Assistance with Infant Formula.
• Assistance with reasonable one-off needs

Last year we received 2,556 FIF applications with an award rate of 62% and average award of £419.

The total spend last financial year was £664k.

A total of 3,347 payments were made to households.

The principles of the FIF

• Robust, evidence-based assessment process and eligibility criteria.
• Provides robust data.
• All applicants must undergo a comprehensive welfare benefit check - this is a condition of the scheme to ensure that all households, whether successful or not, receive advice and assistance to ensure that they are or that they will be receiving their full welfare benefit and other entitlements in order to maximise income, reduce outgoings and to provide better longer-term sustainable solutions for our residents. This is a Best Value approach which should prevent/reduce additional cost to the local authority and other agencies/community groups at a later date.
• It does not replicate or duplicate existing statutory provision unless otherwise exhausted.
• Relies on existing capital rules which exist within the Scottish Welfare Fund in respect of Community Care Grants.
• We applied the Scottish Government, Self-Isolation Support Grant income rules to the scheme, the point at which Universal Credit would no longer be paid plus 25%. This is always based on household composition, so is proportionate and accurate and always includes an average amount for rent so that owner-occupiers were not disadvantaged by the scheme. This meant that we could assist households that weren't in receipt of benefit but who were still struggling financially.
• As FIF is not a public fund we ensured that those residents of Perth & Kinross with no recourse to public funds were in scope for all payments, ensuring that all Perth and Kinross residents had equitable access to the fund.  We made onward referrals to the Ethnic Minority Law Centre and other relevant agencies where it was appropriate to do so (the reality is and has been the case since 30 June 2021 that the group most likely to access the fund on this basis are EEA Nationals who do not have settled or pre-settled status and who are often cut adrift from any financial assistance due to current UK Government legislation).

Energy Debt payments

Households in receipt of a low-income with energy debt no greater than £3000 were able to access payments of up to £500 last financial year (the energy debt payments were up to £1000 in previous years). 

A total of 331 households benefitted from these payments which either removed or reduced their debts to energy suppliers. Households reported feeling relieved and grateful that at a time of increased living costs they were able to apply for financial support to alleviate their financial circumstances.

We allocated £130k in total to households in respect of their energy debts.

Rural Hardship payments and support with oil and solid fuel

Living rurally brings with it additional barriers for households which more often than not, come at a cost. In recognition of this FIF delivered a one-off rural hardship payment for eligible low-income households. Households with no children receiving a £100 payment and households with children receiving a £200 payment.

Last financial year we made rural hardship payments totalling £159,000 to 1130 households. Of those 1130 households, 442 had dependent children.

In addition to the rural hardship payments, last year, we also supported households struggling financially with the cost of oil and solid fuel. Throughout 2023/24 we supported 27 households to the value of £9,700 which meant they were able to heat their homes over the winter period and didn't have to make the difficult choice between heating their homes and eating.  Of those 27 households, 17 had dependent children.

Council Tax payments

Council Tax debt is an area of public debt that attracts a lot of attention and is an area where there is no longer a discretionary scheme that exists within the benefits system to assist low-income households. It is for this reason that we were so determined to include it in the various payments the FIF scheme would offer. Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) were available to assist with Council Tax debt until 31^st March 2013, however, once Council Tax Benefit was abolished so too was the link to DHP.

We saw an opportunity to change/influence that and we did by administering FIF payments to eligible households with Council Tax debt that dated back no longer than 2018 (in-line with the introduction of full Universal Credit in our area) and for households that had no more than £3000 of Council Tax debt.

Last financial year we assisted 501 households with Council Tax debt to the value of £120k. Of these 64 payments were between £500 and £1000, 135 payments were between £250 and £500 and the remainder were below £250. All of these households received comprehensive welfare benefit checks, advice and assistance as required. Reducing priority debt to some extent and alleviating some stress for 500 households. Some households have also gone on to negotiate manageable repayment plans with our Local Taxes Team, following household income maximisation.

We undertook some analysis of the 100 highest payments awarded and found that following the FIF payment, a minimum of 8 households no longer had Council Tax arrears and the cases were no longer with Sheriff Officer. No Sheriff Officer involvement means less stress for the households overall, as well as, preventing additional charges being placed on the debt, prevents earnings and bank account arrestments and sequestrations.

Three of the households had children, two lone parent families and a large family (couple) with more than three children. There was one couple household and four of the households were single people.

All of the households were self-referred and called the Welfare Rights Advice Line on their own behalf. We identified the following benefits missing for these 8 households:

• 2 x Council Tax Reduction applications.
• 2 x Adult Disability Payment claims.
• 1 x New Style Employment & Support Allowance claim.
• 1 x Universal Credit (Limited Capability for Work-related Activity Element).
• 1 x Scottish Child Payment.
• 1 x Universal Credit claim.
• 1 x Child Disability Payment.
• 1 x Student Council Tax exemption

Some of these claims have yet to be decided by the relevant benefit authorities but so far we have been able to confirm a total award of £6650 for these 8 households alone.

In addition to the amount paid towards Council Tax arrears for these 8 households (£6,182.23) they also benefitted from a further £3,481 in FIF payments in respect of rent/mortgage arrears, energy arrears and rural hardship payments.

This is a total of £16,313.00 between all 8 households.

This is a very small sample of the work that has been undertaken but provides a flavour of the work that has been undertaken overall in each of the 2,556 FIF applications received.

One-Off Discretionary Fund

From mid-November 2023 until 31^st March 2024, an additional payment was created within the FIF scheme with similar principles to that of the Welfare Trust.

We applied a £500 limit to each award (but with discretion in exceptional circumstances) and households could apply as often as needed so long as no applications for repeat needs within 28 days. We paid over £500 on 10 occasions.

This additional fund allowed us to continue as if the Welfare Trust budget had continued and it tided PKC residents over the winter months.

460 One-Off discretionary payments were made totalling £84k. Overall these households have benefitted from the FIF scheme in a share of £190k an average of £425.25 per award.

25 (5%) of the households were not in receipt of a means-tested benefits however their incomes were below the Universal Credit threshold figure + 25%. These are households where we were satisfied there was no additional income and also a cohort that would have received little or no cash assistance elsewhere.

52 households were in paid employment. 8 of those households and had no benefit entitlement.

Over half of the applications to the one-off discretionary FIF fund were identified and submitted by the Welfare Rights Team on the household's behalf.

Case study 1

A family of 6 - a couple and 4 children - where 2 of the children had behavioural issues and additional needs living in a private let. Their youngest child (11 months) had outgrown their high chair and car seat due to disability with the need too pressing and too early for the next tranche of Scottish Government Best Start Grants which were explored as part of the assessment.  The family were previously open to us to follow up on previous assistance and Child Disability Payment was awarded for one of the children following our involvement.

The family received a One-Off payment award in respect of:

• Child's car seat
• High chair
• 36 piece crockery set
• Clothing for both adults

Total One-Off discretionary award of £457.

Other FIF awards were made in respect of:

• Rural hardship payment for a household with children
• Clothing for 4 children

Total other FIF award of £600.

Total FIF award of £1057.

Case study 2

A single gentleman in his early 60s who lived rurally presented in Pullar House. He was recently bereaved, had limited literacy and almost no digital skills.

A Welfare Rights Officer assisted him to make a claim for Universal Credit via the Universal Credit Helpline which is standard procedure for those with little or no digital skills and was advised the application could not proceed as the gentleman did not have a mobile phone number he could provide.

The Welfare Rights Officer submitted a FIF application in respect of £500 towards Council Tax arrears, a Rural Hardship Payment and funds to purchase a mobile phone and data.

The Welfare Rights Officer also assisted the gentleman with a single person's discount to reduce his Council Tax by 25%, completed a Council Tax Reduction application and a claim for Adult Disability Payment that same day once he had bought himself a mobile phone and some data.  He then proceeded to help with with his Universal Credit claim.

Total payment from FIF £820, £120 of which was a one-off payment for mobile and data.

The £820 payment does not include the income he then received from Universal Credit, his reduced Council Tax or his Adult Disability Payment, the outcome of which is still to be confirmed.

Infant Formula Fund

During 2023/24 we worked with Public Health colleagues to create a referral pathway for infant formula, guided by UNICEF recommendations. The guiding principle is that local authorities and health boards should work together to ensure that parents with a child under 12 months can access infant formula for themselves and that foodbanks and community larders should not stock or distribute infant formula.

We have, therefore, created a small fund specifically for infant formula for occasions when households may not qualify for Crisis Grants. Crisis Grants are our statutory first-response to crisis and so this provision should be exhausted, where possible, in the first instance. We can now provide cash to parents with children under 12 months of age (or a child of any age with a need that requires formula e.g. premature babies/disabled children) that require infant formula.

18 families benefitted from this fund and the total sum was £420.

No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) Crisis Grants

As a Council, our aim is to provide equitable access to a cash-first response in times of crisis, our FIF scheme therefore includes an NRPF Crisis Grant. The NRPF Crisis Grants element of the FIF scheme mirrors the Scottish Welfare Fund Crisis Grant scheme with the exception of Independent Review (this is undertaken by the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman for SWF cases).

In the past year we paid 60 NRPF Crisis Grants to the value of £15k with an average award of £250 to households with no recourse to public funds. The overwhelming majority of these payments were made to EEA National households where they have no settled or pre-settled status. Almost all of the households are responsible for dependent children. Onward referrals are therefore made, with consent, to the Ethnic Minority Law Centre (EMLC) to either submit late applications to the European Union Settlement Scheme or to challenge decisions by the Home Office that may be incorrect.

NRPF Crisis Case study

Mr and Mrs Barbu were referred to the Welfare Rights Team by ESOL Perth as both husband and wife's applications to the EUSS had been refused. ESOL Perth had referred the couple to EMLC but sought our advice on any entitlements the family may have.

The family are Romanian nationals, with two children of school-age.

A couple of days following the initial referral we also received an email from an elected member who was also concerned about the family.

Mr Barbu had been working pending the decision on his EUSS application, however, when he received the decision from the Home Office refusing his application, he was no longer allowed to work in the UK and duly advised his employer of his change in circumstances. Alongside this the household entitlement to Universal Credit also stopped and the family's only income was then Scottish Child Payment of £50 per week, we advised the family to report the Home Office decision to Social Security Scotland as this payment should have ended when their Universal Credit stopped.

The family had been living off food-bank parcels and borrowing money from friends for the last few weeks preceding them being referred to the Welfare Rights Team.

We assisted the family to make a FIF application. A face-to-face appointment using an interpreter was arranged and we assisted with the gathering of evidence to support the application.

All relevant evidence was submitted at this appointment and Mr Barbu was advised that FIF would be paid as follows:

• NRPF Crisis Grant for 28 days - £896
• Council Tax arrears - £301.75
• Child Clothing payment - £260
• Broadband debt - £75

When the Welfare Rights Officer advised Mr Barbu of the financial assistance his family would receive he broke down and became extremely tearful. He was overwhelmed by the response and kept thanking the member of the team.

The family's case was allocated to a Welfare Rights Officer to assist with benefit applications in the event that the Home Office decisions were overturned at appeal. The EMLC were assisting with this.

In addition, the family's children were attending a school which proved difficult to get to and caused additional financial pressure on the household. There were two schools that were within walking distance. The family did not understand why their children had been placed at this school and so we wrote to the Education Department on Mr Barbu's behalf so that he could receive an explanation for the decision and to explore whether there was the opportunity for the family's children to access a school nearer to the family home.

A further FIF NRPF Crisis Grant was awarded following the initial 28-day period as the family was again in crisis. A further £896 was awarded to tide the family over.

A third FIF NRPF Crisis Grant was awarded following the second 28-day period as the family were in crisis. A third payment of £896 was awarded.

During the appeals process for the EUSS decision it became apparent that there were outstanding legal issues that would prohibit a positive decision from the Home Office, we shared this information with EMLC with the family's consent and EMLC confirmed our thoughts. It was unlikely that any status would be granted, we advised the family during an emotional face-to-face appointment of the likely outcome and we kept up contact with them to ensure that their needs were met, as much as possible, until their final departure to Romania.

School dinner and other child-related debts

Last year we assisted 21 households with debts they owed to the Council in respect of school dinner and other child-related debts such as kids clubs. The total sum paid was £4.3k and this was an average of around £204 per household. Some of these households would have had entitlement to Free School Meals and applications were submitted on the household's behalf where this was missing. The remaining households had entitlement to a means-tested benefit such as Universal Credit or Council Tax Reduction however their earnings excluded them from Free School Meals entitlement. Removing these debts from households reduces stress, removes recovery action for the debt and improves the relationship families have with the local authority.

Clothes for children

We administered a payment to families, referred by schools, whereby they were excluded from School Clothing Grants because their earnings were too high yet they had entitlement to a means-tested benefit such as, Universal Credit or Council Tax Reduction. From November, the Council removed the requirement for schools to refer these families and we broadened the scheme to include all children not solely children of school-age. We spent a total of £83k on clothing for children and the majority of these payments were made over the winter period. Around 650 children benefitted from these payments across Perth and Kinross.

The Welfare Trust is a combination of small charitable funds that we have administered on behalf of the Trustees since 2018.

To be considered for a Welfare Trust payment the applicant / family must:

• Reside in the Perth & Kinross area.
• Have no savings/capital that can be used to cover the cost of the need.
• Have a low income or be experiencing financial hardship, the same rules that apply to the FIF scheme.
• Be vulnerable due to age, ill-health, disability or other disadvantage.
• Be willing to undertake a comprehensive benefit check.

The Welfare Trust can only normally meet a one-off need and no more than one award can be made in a rolling 12 month period.

Welfare Trust payments cannot replicate / duplicate assistance that is provided elsewhere e.g. through statutory or other provision.

In 2023/24 the Welfare Trust received 261 applications from which 153 awards were made (58% award rate) with a total spend of £28,622.03.  With an average household award of £187.

201 applications were from households with children and 186 were from households where someone in the household had a disability.

The Welfare Rights Team identified a need and submitted 114 of the applications themselves. Members of the public submitted 135 applications on their own and 12 applications were submitted on behalf of clients by NHS, Scottish Welfare Fund, CHAS, Housing and Broke Not Broken.

Awards were made for a variety of items, including; clothing, electronic devices (tablets), TV, bedroom furniture, pram, cot-bed, water filter, smart-phones, insurance excess, swimming lessons, MOT, vet bill, recliner chair, school trip and professional registration to allow someone to work.

The scheme closed early last year in November 2023 as the fund was exhausted, however, we were allocated additional funding to the Financial Insecurity Fund to provide a similar discretionary scheme.

Case studies

Case study - Miss Dawson

An online self-referral was received from Miss Dawson requesting a benefit check because she was struggling financially with the cost of living rurally and the cost of getting back to work following a period of sickness. Miss Dawson had been under-going treatment for cancer. She was in receipt of Universal Credit and living in social housing with her adult son.

A welfare benefit check was completed and there were no entitlements missing.

Miss Dawson mentioned during diagnostic interview with the Welfare Rights Officer that she is trying to get back to work and the one last barrier that she faced was a professional subscription that would allow her to become a self-employed teacher. The subscription cost £238 and she did not have the means at that time to cover the cost. The Welfare Rights Officer submitted a Welfare Trust application on her behalf and a payment covering the cost was awarded in order to remove her barrier to work. As Miss Dawson lives rurally and met the eligibility criteria for FIF, an application was also submitted and a FIF Rural Hardship Payment was made of £100.

In addition, our Macmillan Welfare Rights Officer submitted a Macmillan Grant application on her behalf and an award of £300 was made by Macmillan Cancer Support.

A total of £638 was awarded to the household.

Case study - Mrs Travis

Mrs Travis is a lone parent with one child, 3 years old and she owns her own home. She is currently employed, earning around £1000 per month and she is also in receipt of Universal Credit (which includes help with childcare costs), Council Tax Reduction, Single Person's Discount on her Council Tax liability, Child Benefit and Scottish Child Payment. Her Universal Credit entitlement was checked as being correct for her circumstances.

Mrs Travis telephoned the Welfare Rights Advice Line as her upstairs neighbour had a leak/flood for the second time in the last 18 months resulting in water damage to her property (walls, flooring, furniture, clothing etc).  Her home insurance would cover the cost of replacement and repairs but Mrs Travis still had to find £500 in order to cover the cost of the excess.

Eligibility for a Financial Insecurity Fund payment was explored, however Mrs Travis did not meet the criteria for any of the payments available at the time.

Welfare Rights submitted a Welfare Trust application to cover the cost of her excess and Mrs Travis was duly awarded £500.

Case Study - Maggie

We received a referral from Housing for Maggie who lived alone in a two-bedroom Perth & Kinross Council property in a rural location.  She was in receipt of Universal Credit but had recently became a registered childminder. She was struggling to start her childminding business because of household debts and other barriers.

As Maggie had a low-income we submitted a Financial Insecurity Fund application for her and she was paid a Rural Hardship payment of £100 along with a contribution towards her priority debts including energy debt of £440. This payment cleared her debt with her energy supplier.

We advised Maggie about the Minimum Income Floor that Universal Credit applies after 12 months of self-employment (the Department for Work and Pensions assume a level of earnings before making any Universal Credit award so what she is paid in respect of Universal Credit could change after a year).  She was also receiving Council Tax Reduction and Single Person's Discount on her Council Tax liability and so she was in receipt of her full entitlements.

Maggie's car had failed it's MOT. Having her car was essential to Maggie's work as a childminder, so we submitted a Welfare Trust application on her behalf in order to cover the cost of these essential repairs to allow her to start her childminding business.  Maggie was awarded £230 from the Welfare Trust to allow her to start working.

Awareness raising, advice and training sessions

Throughout the last financial year we delivered over 40 sessions to internal teams and to Partner agencies including regular monthly/ 6-weekly sessions to the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Group and the Health and Wellbeing/Dementia Café. We also delivered talks to all PKC Sheltered Housing complexes for the second year running to ensure that the residents are aware of the advice services that are available.

We delivered training to a range of Partner organisations last year including, Perth Citizen's Advice Bureau, Turning Point, Simon Scotland, NHS Tayside (Macmillan Nurses, Cancer Nurse Specialists, Health Visitors, midwives, Family Nurses and Murray Royal Hospital staff), Letham 4All, Perth & Kinross Foodbank, Kinloch Rannoch Community group and the Breadalbane Community Larder and the Employability Network.

Internally, we delivered sessions to teams and groups including, the Early Intervention & Prevention Team, Head Teachers, Cairnwell Mental Health Team, Social Prescribers, Early Years Practitioners, Child Protection Team, Children & Families Field Work Teams, Carer's Strategy Group and the Cost of the School Day Working Group.

Second tier advice

As well as providing awareness sessions, talks and training we also provide second tier advice to the Council's frontline support workers and the frontline of external agencies. Advising workers is an integral part of the work that we do and we would not be able to assist so many households were it not for the many relationships with we have with teams and agencies.

We are part of the toolkit for our colleagues on the front-line, working together towards better outcomes for households throughout Perth and Kinross.

Case study

Marella is a Support Worker that works for a third sector agency in the Perth and Kinross area, she contacts the Welfare Rights Team for advice regarding rent arrears and a benefit check for her client. The Welfare Rights Officer undertakes a comprehensive welfare benefit check for the client based on the information provided by Marella and explains the actions that Marella should take with her client's consent. She's sent an email that contains all of the advice in step-by-step format with the benefits to be applied for in order of priority (some benefits have to be claimed before others can be claimed). Marella duly assists her client based on the advice provided by the Welfare Rights Team. She contacts us later to advise that all but one benefit claim was successful and we advise Marella on how to request a mandatory reconsideration of the decision and to apply for a Crisis Grant for her client to alleviate the crisis.

This is one example of the interactions that we have on a regular, often daily, basis with agencies inside and outside of the organisation. Following training sessions we actively encourage support workers to contact us so that we can help them to navigate the benefit system and we do this because of the ever-changing nature of the benefits system. Most Support Workers know enough about the benefits system to know of the risks that mis-information or mis-advice can pose to household incomes. We therefore encourage workers to come to us for advice as much as they need to. We sit behind agencies and strengthen their services in doing so.

• Households missing out on Child Benefit being in payment for 16/17 year olds in further non-advanced education.
• Scottish Child Payment not being claimed for older children.
• A disconnect between Child Disability Payment being in payment and the corresponding elements of Universal Credit not being in payment.
• Kinship Carers missing out on Scottish Child Payment.
• The wrong Local Housing Allowance rate being used in Universal Credit Housing Costs payments.
• A disconnect between Carers Support Payment being in payment and the corresponding element of Universal Credit not being in payment.

Building on our established work with communities

• Outreach surgeries at Gypsy/Traveller sites starting from May 2024
• Outreach at Scott Street starting from May 2024 providing advice and information to Young People, this is in response to the significant rise in youth homelessness
• Outreach surgery for asylum seekers
• Outreach at Glenochil prison establishment. This is to extend our early intervention
• Outreach surgery at 2 Sisters chicken factory, Coupar Angus from June 2024
• Providing an enhanced welfare rights service for 16-25 year-olds

We survey our clients on an on-going basis to ensure that they are satisfied with the service we provide. The feedback is as follows:

• 95% of people surveyed had no problems accessing our service.
• 95% of people surveyed felt our opening hours were suitable to their needs.
• 96% of people surveyed felt our service was delivered in a way that suited their needs.

The team were brilliant. I could not have gotten my correct benefits and help without them. I cannot thank them enough they helped me through 2 tribunals. Excellent work!

My worker was extremely helpful and always just a phone call away if I needed her

The information, support, practical assistance, patience and understanding given to me at such a difficult time have been invaluable. I cannot praise the service enough.

Thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it. It's such a great News for me. Because, unfortunately I didn't pass my driving exam, but because of your help I don't need to be worried about clothes, hoover etc.