Scottish Welfare Fund Statistics: update to 31 December 2023

Scottish Welfare Fund awards tend to go to applicants living in more deprived areas of Scotland. Around one in five people in Scotland live in the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland, as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). In the latest quarter, around half of Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants (52% and 48% respectively) were awarded to applicants living in these areas. In comparison, 1% of Community Care Grants and 3% of Crisis Grants were awarded to applicants from the 20% least deprived areas (Table 36, Table 37, Chart 12).

The average value of awards were similar across all quintiles. (Table 37, Chart 12).

Chart 12: Distribution of awards and average award value by SIMD Quintile rankings of applicant’s postcode – October to December 2023-24