Scottish Welfare Fund Statistics

From when the Scottish Welfare Fund scheme began on 1 April 2013 until 31 December 2017, 285,720 individual households have received awards totaling £155.8 million.

Scotland’s Chief Statistician today released statistics on the Scottish Welfare Fund covering  the period from 1 April 2013 to 31 December 2017. The statistics showed that a third of households receiving a Scottish Welfare Fund award were families with children, while just over half were single person households with no children.

The Scottish Welfare Fund comprises of Community Care Grants – which help people to live independently – and Crisis Grants, which provide a safety net in a disaster or emergency.

Between 1 October and 31 December 2017, local authorities received 15,240 applications for Community Care Grants, and awarded £5.5 million for items such as floor coverings, furniture and kitchen appliances. During the same quarter, local authorities received 40,115 applications for Crisis Grants, and awarded £2.1 million for items such as food and essential heating costs.

The annual budget for Scottish Welfare Fund awards in 2017/18 (including underspend from previous years) is £34.4 million. By 31 December, three quarters of the way through the financial year, 69% of this budget had been spent.

Background

The full statistical publication is available online. 

This publication contains:  an overview of number of applications and awards for Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants; details on the processing times for applications; information on what the Scottish Welfare Fund has been spent on and household analyses.  Local Authority analyses and details of the review process are also provided.

Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff – more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland is available online.  

On 1 April 2013, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) abolished two elements of the Social Fund – Community Care Grants and Crisis Loans – and transferred funds previously spent on them to Scottish Ministers. In its place, the Scottish Government established the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF). The Scottish Welfare Fund is a national scheme run by local authorities, based on guidance from Scottish Ministers. The guidance has been developed in partnership with COSLA, Local Authorities and other stakeholders.