Compassion, not cost-cutting, should be at the heart of welfare reform

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Compassion, not cost-cutting, should be at the heart of welfare reform

This was a pretty shameful week in the history of welfare policy.

The UK Government making a series of last-minute sweeping changes to its own bill was a very poor approach, particularly to a policy that will be life-changing - potentially devasting - for hundreds of thousands of sick and disabled people.

Indeed the whole flawed process behind this bill has, in itself, caused harm. People coming to our CABs for help are very worried, confused and scared - even before any changes have been implemented. Amidst the chaos of the last week, it was heartening to see many MPs raise concerns about the harm that the proposed reforms would cause.

We must remember that people affected by these issues are already struggling to cope. 67% of those seeking advice from a Scottish CAB have a disability or long-term health condition which adds significant financial and emotional cost to their lives, especially for those in remote and rural communities. People don’t have enough to live on; many are grappling with debt and destitution. And such poverty is both a consequence and cause of disability and ill health, meaning the need for social security has grown alongside poverty rates.

As things stand, there will be no changes to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) until a review has been completed in late 2026. Importantly, the UK Government has now pledged in the meantime to engage in meaningful consultation with disabled groups about future welfare provision. This is vital. It should have happened in the first place. Sick and disabled people must be able to help shape the policies that will have such a profound effect on their lives and livelihoods. We hope the review will learn from a similar review conducted into Scotland’s equivalent of PIP, Adult Disability Payment.

It remains unclear what impact the reforms will have on devolved social security in Scotland. Complexity could be added to the system, making it more difficult for people to claim payments they’re entitled to. It is imperative the UK Government works closely with the Scottish Government to avoid this.

The bill now moves to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny; there will be more opportunities to shape the legislation in the coming months. We remain deeply concerned about many of the changes, and the holes that they could create in the social security safety net. Holes that many could fall through, including people with fluctuating health conditions, or those who experience sudden injury or illness and are unable to work or need recovery time.  

Social security is an investment in all of us. It should be both a safety net and a springboard; enabling people to realise their potential and providing support during the storms of life that any of us could experience.

The UK Government must work collaboratively now; to map out how social security can be reformed in a way that’s not just about cost-cutting but social justice too. We’re talking here about some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Compassion should not be an optional extra in this process. It should be right at the heart of it.   

We will remain free - advice on poverty must not be commercialised

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We will remain free - advice on poverty must not be commercialised

Free. Confidential. Impartial. For over 85 years, those three principles have been the calling card of the Citizens Advice network in Scotland. Our advice is free. Always has been, always will be.

Following intense pressure from charities like us, the UK Government last week announced concessions to its proposed welfare cuts. In our view, these still fail to go anywhere near far enough. All they do is create a two-tier system: present and future. Cutting the income of any disabled people is incomprehensible, and the entire approach must be reversed.

Yet if the prospect of future cuts to essential support isn’t concerning enough, private commercial firms too are taking money away from disabled people. And this is happening right now, in plain sight.  

In recent months, we have identified instances of private firms offering a ‘no win, no fee’ service to access social security payments. Commercialising a service that people may not always know is freely available. 

Most recently, we’ve seen examples of this for Adult Disability Payment (ADP) – which replaces the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for working-age adults in Scotland.

Some of the activity is happening through sophisticated, targeted social media marketing. People are being charged up to £400 plus VAT per successful application, with as much as a 10% deduction from their ongoing monthly payments.  

Over the course of a multi-year award, this could earn the private firm thousands of pounds – clearly a lucrative if thoroughly unethical approach.

For us, this is a pernicious practice – profiteering from people who need support most. It is the very worst kind of innovation and opportunism, clearly undermining the policy intent of these payments to provide vital financial support to those who need it most. 

Expert, impartial and confidential advice should be free of charge to everyone who needs it in Scotland. And that is what we in the CAB network provide.  

If the advice sector was the health service, we would be accident and emergency.

Because while our advice and information is for everyone – somewhat naturally demand is greatest where need and crisis is most acute and urgent.  

Like no one else, the Citizens Advice network supports people who are experiencing most harm.

And so people are presenting with ever more challenging circumstances, usually at a point of crisis where they have nowhere left to turn. Our essential frontline service provides a lifeline to over 190,000 people in Scotland every year.  

We are so very often the last door open for people who are out of options and facing unimaginable difficulty – frequently acting as a backstop for failure everywhere else, from social security to energy markets.

We know ours is advice that changes lives because people tell us that.  

During the first three months of this year alone, our advisers secured ADP Daily Living entitlements worth £6,659,046, mostly upon initial application.  

In simple terms, what does that mean?

Well, it means securing the right outcome, first time-round for people who then get the essential support they need.  

As we wrote here last week, day-to-day. essential living already costs more when you have less.

It shouldn’t cost you anything to access that kind of expert advice. 

UK government’s welfare reforms will be ‘devastating’ for sick and disabled people in Scotland

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UK government’s welfare reforms will be ‘devastating’ for sick and disabled people in Scotland

Emma Jackson, CAS head of social justice, says, 

“The proposed welfare reforms will be devastating for sick and disabled people across the UK. However, Citizens Advice Scotland is deeply concerned that the UK Government is not sufficiently considering the unique impact of these proposed reforms on people in Scotland.  

“Around two thirds of the people accessing support from the Scottish CAB network have a disability or health condition, and our evidence shows that people already cannot afford the essentials. These cuts will force more people into debt, destitution, and despair.  

“From what we understand, alongside reducing incomes, there is a high risk that welfare reforms could make the claims process even more complicated for people in Scotland, increasing the likelihood that they will not access their full support entitlements. 

“It is crucial that the UK Government halts and reconsiders these reforms. Meaningful consultation is required with the Scottish Government, disabled people and the third sector in Scotland. We strongly urge MPs to vote against the proposed welfare reforms because they will expose sick and disabled people in Scotland to significant harm.” 

ENDS 

Preparing for Pension Age Disability Payment

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Preparing for Pension Age Disability Payment

Reaching pension age is a time of bewildering transition. Many of us are moving on from working life and regular routines as we start a new chapter.  

For many, social security provides vital income that helps manage the changing needs that comes with this change, while maintaining a quality of life and wellbeing.  

This month, Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) is replacing Attendance Allowance in Scotland. That means that Social Security Scotland will now be responsible for delivering payments to older people who have care needs because of a disability or long-term health condition.

The payment is available to all pension age people living in Scotland, regardless of their financial circumstances. The 169,000 older people already receiving Attendance Allowance do not need to do anything as awards will be transferred automatically.  

As Scotland’s largest independent advice network, we’re ready to support people to navigate the change. From January-March this year, we advised 7,449 people about Attendance Allowance with seven in ten assisted with eligibility and application process enquiries.  

PADP represents the maturing of Scotland’s social security system. Like Attendance Allowance, the amount of PADP a person receives depends on their care needs. Care is defined as a requirement for frequent attention, or supervision, from another person.

A lower payment is made if either daytime or night time care needs are established, and a higher payment is provided if both apply. Unlike Attendance Allowance, PADP is open to anyone eligible who has a terminal diagnosis, no matter how long they’re expected to live. The application is also designed to be easier to navigate, it includes prompts to help applicants understand what information to include. It is also easier for someone else, like a family member or an adviser, to help a person to put in an application.

We can, and must, be ambitious for our older people. And while we largely welcome this change, we’re disappointed to see that PADP excludes mobility issues. This has a huge impact on older communities.

For example, our advisers have pointed out that many older people are incurring additional transport costs because they have stopped driving. There are also more older people living in rural areas, where there can be fewer public transportation and housing options. These older people are at risk of extreme social isolation.  

One adviser movingly recounted to me the experience of an older person who felt that their world had “gotten a little smaller” since losing their leg to an amputation and lacked funds to alleviate isolation. It can be challenging to understand mobility in the context of what might be ordinarily expected as part of the aging process. From enabling work or volunteering to enjoying coffees with friends, everyone should be able to get around in older age so they can remain part of and enrich their communities and avoid isolation.  

Financial support for older people who have mobility needs could play a transformative role in enabling dignity, independence and allowing people to flourish throughout life. It can help older people weather storms such as bereavement and other life events.

Only with a vision for social security bold as this can the goal of a Scotland in which all can thrive be realised.  

“This will be devastating for all of us”: why welfare reforms don’t need to happen

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“This will be devastating for all of us”: why welfare reforms don’t need to happen

"Please tell me they won’t take away my benefits, there’s no way I can go back to work. My health has deteriorated so badly".

These are the words one of our CAB advisers heard from someone they’re helping. Someone facing utter desperation and fear because of the UK Government’s proposed welfare reforms. Someone like thousands of others in Scotland that’s terrified about what this is going to mean for them.

In June, MPs will vote on proposals to reform disability and health related social security. If the reforms pass, the incomes of millions of sick and disabled people across the UK will be dramatically reduced. Evidence from across the Citizens Advice network in Scotland shows that disabled people already experience disproportionate harm with many forced to endure poverty and inequality. 

More than two thirds (67%) of people seeking advice from a CAB have a disability or long-term health condition. This comes at significant cost, especially for those in remote and rural communities. People don’t have enough to live on, many are grappling with debt and destitution, and physical and mental health is getting worse. Poverty is a consequence and cause of disability and ill health, meaning the need for social security has grown alongside poverty rates. 

One of the proposals seeks to radically narrow eligibility criteria for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) so that fewer people can receive this. PIP and its equivalent in Scotland, Adult Disability Payment (ADP), are enabling payments. They exist to cover the additional costs of disability or ill health. They’re not means tested or linked to the ability to work.  

Narrowing the criteria to access the daily living component of PIP – which includes support for preparing food or managing incontinence – will remove payments that enable many people to work. More than a quarter (27%) of those seeking ADP advice from our network are in employment. Removing people from the work force, which will happen if these proposals go head, is completely senseless.

It’s unclear what impact the reforms will have on devolved social security in Scotland. Alongside a dramatically reduced budget, complexity could be added to the system, making it more difficult for people to claim payments they’re entitled to. It is imperative the UK Government works closely with the Scottish Government to avoid this.

People urgently need reassurance, as is clear from the CEO of Glasgow Northwest CAB: "We’ve already seen a spike in demand from people asking what this is going to mean. People are so worried – I don’t know how much more they can take. Or our advisers. How do we tell even more people who are cold and hungry, facing mounting debts and deteriorating health there’s nothing else we can do to increase their incomes? This will be devastating for all of us".  

There’s a choice to be made; improving the circumstances of sick and disabled people should not be a difficult one. It’s clear for us when we hear the worry in the voices of our advisers and the thousands who visit our CABs, our leaders need to listen too - these reforms do not need to go ahead.

Preparing for Pension Age Disability Payment

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Preparing for Pension Age Disability Payment

Reaching pension age is a time of bewildering transition. Many of us are moving on from working life and regular routines as we start a new chapter.  

For many, social security provides vital income that helps manage the changing needs that comes with this change, while maintaining a quality of life and wellbeing.  

This month, Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) is replacing Attendance Allowance in Scotland. That means that Social Security Scotland will now be responsible for delivering payments to older people who have care needs because of a disability or long-term health condition.

The payment is available to all pension age people living in Scotland, regardless of their financial circumstances. The 169,000 older people already receiving Attendance Allowance do not need to do anything as awards will be transferred automatically. 

As Scotland’s largest independent advice network, we’re ready to support people to navigate the change. From January-March this year, we advised 7,449 people about Attendance Allowance with seven in ten assisted with eligibility and application process enquiries.  

PADP represents the maturing of Scotland’s social security system. Like Attendance Allowance, the amount of PADP a person receives depends on their care needs. Care is defined as a requirement for frequent attention, or supervision, from another person.

A lower payment is made if either daytime or night time care needs are established, and a higher payment is provided if both apply. Unlike Attendance Allowance, PADP is open to anyone eligible who has a terminal diagnosis, no matter how long they’re expected to live. The application is also designed to be easier to navigate, it includes prompts to help applicants understand what information to include. It is also easier for someone else, like a family member or an adviser, to help a person to put in an application.

We can, and must, be ambitious for our older people. And while we largely welcome this change, we’re disappointed to see that PADP excludes mobility issues. This has a huge impact on older communities.

For example, our advisers have pointed out that many older people are incurring additional transport costs because they have stopped driving. There are also more older people living in rural areas, where there can be fewer public transportation and housing options. These older people are at risk of extreme social isolation.  

One adviser movingly recounted to me the experience of an older person who felt that their world had “gotten a little smaller” since losing their leg to an amputation and lacked funds to alleviate isolation. It can be challenging to understand mobility in the context of what might be ordinarily expected as part of the aging process. From enabling work or volunteering to enjoying coffees with friends, everyone should be able to get around in older age so they can remain part of and enrich their communities and avoid isolation.  

Financial support for older people who have mobility needs could play a transformative role in enabling dignity, independence and allowing people to flourish throughout life. It can help older people weather storms such as bereavement and other life events.

Only with a vision for social security bold as this can the goal of a Scotland in which all can thrive be realised. 

Urgent action is needed to lift Scotland’s children out of poverty

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Urgent action is needed to lift Scotland’s children out of poverty

Despite the brief glimpse of spring we enjoyed recently, things are feeling bleak.

My job involves influencing change and creating better outcomes for people across social security, energy and housing. But what we’re seeing is that people are worried and, in many cases, desperate.  

There’s been a wave of higher bills hitting households which is especially tough on people who have already cut back what they can. And as the situation worsens, the UK Government is not investing in positive change but instead proposing cuts to payments for sick and disabled people.

This is despite their own figures showing that this will push an additional 250,000 people into poverty – including 50,000 children.  

What we need is urgent action, not more cuts that put our most vulnerable people into more vulnerable situations.  

More positively, we’re seeing is the Scottish Government’s mitigation of the two-child limit - a UK Government policy which restricts social security support for families with more than two children. It has committed to spend £3 million to develop the system, a step in the right direction to reduce harm caused by the cap.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission states that the £155m needed in 2026/27 and £198m in 2029/30 to implement the policy will help to keep thousands out of poverty.

In one year, this investment could help 42,000 children.  

But it’s not only the figures that show the real harm. Our advisers have also seen the impact caused by the two-child limit first-hand.

Recently an adviser helped Chris who lives with his partner, Diane, and their three children aged 17, eight and six. Chris hasn’t been able to work for the past six months due to sickness and Diane is self-employed. But like many others, work is no longer a guaranteed escape out of poverty. Their savings are shrinking, and everyday essentials are increasingly out of reach. Chris’s Statutory Sick Pay will run out soon and he is worried about looking after his family.  

If the Scottish Government mitigates the two-child limit, it’s making the decision to prioritise vulnerable families and help people like Chris and Diane. It has already taken important steps through investing in the Scottish Child Payment, a vital cash support providing parents with the choice over how to provide for their children.  

The UK Government has committed to bringing forward a child poverty strategy, sating: “we are failing our children if we are not investing in them and doing our best to meet their material, emotional and developmental needs.”

While we don’t agree with the current policy, we agree that investment in our children is needed, and fast.  

Alongside 130 organisations in the End Child Poverty coalition, we’re calling on the UK Government to put an end to the two-child limit as part of the All Kids Count campaign. By taking this step, 540,000 children would be lifted out of absolute poverty – how can anyone argue with that?  

Children shouldn’t grow up in poverty and it’s in everyone’s interest that we realise the changes needed to end poverty once and for all. 

Radical reform and the investment needed to deliver dignity

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Radical reform and the investment needed to deliver dignity

Article by Emma Jackson on the need for reform beyond the government’s proposed cuts to the benefits system. First published in The Herald on 15 March 2025.

The prime minster is right that "the people who really need a safety net are not always getting the dignity they deserve".  

Our social security system is broken. Radical reform is required if we are to stop the harm that people are experiencing at an industrial scale. Reform plus investment. This is what we need the spring statement to deliver: not cuts.

The chancellor has earmarked several billion pounds in draft spending cuts to welfare ahead of the spring statement. The UK Government is expected to announce restrictions on eligibility for Personal Independent Payment (PIP) alongside cuts to incapacity benefits for people unable to work and receiving Universal Credit.

While we must wait on the detail of these proposals, it is important for us to understand the potential consequences in Scotland. Yes, PIP is now within the remit of the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland, known as Adult Disability Payment (ADP). However significant changes to PIP will impact ADP, in particular the budget for the payment. The idea that we would reduce the incomes of those experiencing some of the most severe poverty in our society in unconscionable. 

Evidence from across the Citizens Advice Network in Scotland has long sounded the alarm that disabled people are facing disproportionate and unacceptable levels of harm. Almost two thirds (67%) of people seeking advice from a local CAB have a disability or long-term health condition. Disabled people need advice for multiple issues; food insecurity, energy debt, social security, housing. Cases are complex, yet one issue rises to the top: people do not have enough income to live on.  

More than two thirds (68%) of people who sought energy advice had a health condition or disability. Our advisers report time and time again of harrowing instances of meals being missed, essential medical devices not being charged and people sitting in cold homes, with devastating consequences on physical and mental wellbeing. This is the backdrop against which there are proposals to provide people with less to live on.  

We must remember that social security is an investment in all of us, that should act as both a safety net and springboard; providing support during the challenges of life that all of us can all experience and enabling people to realise their potential. Yes, we must invest in the right places and have robust checks and balances in place, but this must be anchored in dignity, equity and respect. In a just and compassionate society, our social security system must be collaborative not cruel.

The UK Government’s ambition to support more disabled people into work is right. Making cuts to disability benefits will not achieve this or fix the system that is so clearly broken. We need a system that incorporates a proactive role for employers and identifies and breaks down barriers, while addressing individual need.  

We need to look at our social security system as a whole and urge the UK Government to work at scale and pace to deliver the review of Universal Credit. Without urgent action to the long-documented problems, they will continue to deliver fatal blows and condemn people to destitution and debt. Social security must invest in all of us.  

British Sign Language - how our advice really is for everyone

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British Sign Language - how our advice really is for everyone

Article by Jonathan Boyd on how the CAS 'Help to Claim' project is now reaching more and more people. First published in The Herald on 22 February 2025.

English, Gaelic and Welsh are the top three languages spoken in the UK. And at Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) we pride ourselves on providing free, advice for everyone.  

Whether it’s through an external interpreter or volunteers that speak a specific language, we do all we can to ensure the advice we give can be accessed by anyone living in Scotland, despite their preferred method of communication.  

And now that includes 117,300 people in Scotland who use British Sign Language (BSL) and are looking for advice around new changes to their benefit entitlement.

Thousands of people seek advice from us on a variety of issues including debt, energy, housing and relationships. But the most common area of support we give to those who come through our CAB doors every day is around benefits.  

The UK Government recently introduced a process called “managed migration” where legacy benefits are being transferred across to Universal Credit (UC). This impacts thousands of people across the Scotland including those who are claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA).  

People claiming ESA will soon be contacted via letter by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) advising of the migration of benefits.

Helpfully, our Help to Claim service is a helpline that’s been designed specifically for people who need advice making the switch to UC. The service helps people confirm eligibility of payments, provide step-by-step support to complete a UC claim, prepare for Job Centre appointments, and support to ensure receipt and correct first full payment.  

But with any change often comes fear. We know from speaking to people seeking advice from their local CABs that there’s a great deal of anxiety around the changes to their benefit.  

For many, visiting their local CAB for one-on-one advice or phoning us can solve their problems with the changes. But what about those who use BSL as their main language? 

To ensure support is available to everyone at such a crucial time, our Help to Claim service now offers a Video Relay Service (VRS), giving one-to-one communication with a BSL interpreter. There’s no appointment needed, and the service can be accessed via our website. The user simply clicks the link and will be directed to a BSL user who can access all the Help to Claim advice available.  

Like all the advice we provide, VRS is free, impartial and confidential.  

Taking that first step and asking for advice can be a daunting prospect for some people, let alone having to navigate communication barriers. And in all the work we do at CAS and across our network and the services we provide, we strive to make sure nobody is left out.  

This vital service now has three different ways to get in touch and it's important to know that whatever way people communicate, they will receive the same level of advice across the board. 

We need to talk about foodbanks

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We need to talk about foodbanks

Article by Sarah-Jayne Dunn, CAS policy manager, Financial Health team, first published in the Herald on 5 December 2022.

Foodbanks are a terrific example of local people pulling together to help their fellow citizens in times of crisis. CAB advisers refer people to foodbanks regularly, in cases where advice alone isn’t enough. The energy and commitment of their volunteers never fail to impress.

But I’m afraid to report that there’s a crisis growing in Scotland’s foodbank network. Put simply, they’re running low on food.

The main foodbank operators - like the Trussell Trust and IFAN - have recently issued desperate appeals for donations. Otherwise, they say, they’ll struggle to maintain their service.

It is understandable that food donations have tailed off as more and more of us are being hit by the growing cost of living ourselves. I’ve noticed, if I’m honest, that when I do a big shop at the supermarket I’m dropping one tin of soup into the foodbank box, instead of the two or three I might have put in a year or so ago. I suspect I’m not alone. (Note to self: an early New Year’s resolution to make my own wee contributions a bit bigger).

However, the foodbank crisis is not something that can be completely sorted by a rush of donations. Because it’s not a temporary shortage, it’s a long-term trend. The numbers of people needing foodbank support are increasing, while the numbers of donations are falling.

As a result, many foodbanks are at breaking point, not only in terms of having enough stock but also in terms of volunteers reaching burnout.

So what’s to be done? Well as individuals we can certainly all try and maximise what we drop in the box when we go shopping. Your local foodbanks will also accept donations of cash (though we’ve noticed that some supermarkets don’t give you the option to donate when you’re shopping online. Perhaps they could think about inserting a simple ‘d’you want to donate to our foodbank?’ button just before you checkout?)

However, we also need to look at the bigger picture and recognise that that foodbanks are not really a sustainable solution to the problem of food insecurity in the longer term. Nor is it fair for government to hand the responsibility of dealing with this crisis to voluntary organisations.

The Scottish Government has said it’s keen to end the need for foodbanks, or at least to stop them having to bear the burden of solving the current levels of food insecurity. Ministers are drawing up a National Delivery Plan for how they will do that.

CAS sits on the working group for this plan, which aims to ensure that everyone has a sufficient and secure income to be able to access food that meets their needs, and also that where financial hardship does occur, co-ordinated local cash-first responses will be sufficient to make foodbanks unnecessary.

It’s a clear, bold vision. However, the plan is yet to be launched, and its initiatives will take time to implement. Action is needed now. People are going without food now and that number is growing.

So, three cheers for all the great folk who work in Scotland’s foodbanks - and please help them out with donations if you can. But we also call on the government to start mobilising its delivery plan to end food insecurity. It can’t be put off a moment longer. 

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