Coronavirus: Demand for boost to crisis cash fund to help those who lose jobs
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The Poverty Alliance, Oxfam Scotland, Citizens Advice Scotland and the Scottish Child Poverty Action Group say that boosting the SWF will protect people likely to face additional cash pressures as a result of the spread of Covid-19.
The £36m fund, which is administered by councils, awards crisis grants to people on an emergency basis – if they run out of money or their health is at risk, and the group want it to be “substantially” increased to meet the predicted rise in demand.
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The charities fear there will be “unprecedented levels of demand” and say the Scottish Government must ensure “anyone in Scotland at crisis point” is able to access the Fund. Previous research by CAS showed that 34 per cent of people couldn’t cover an unexpected but necessary expense of £500.
CAS Social Justice spokesperson Mhoraig Green said: “The Scottish Government should consider a further funding boost to the Scottish Welfare Fund to protect people facing disruptions to their income as a result of the coronavirus.
“The Citizens Advice network in Scotland helps hundreds of thousands of people each year. Our data suggests people are facing a huge crisis of income, often going without paying essential bills or buying food as a result of a lack of cash.
“This is all before the possible economic effects of coronavirus take place, with people facing disruptions in their income by not being able to work.
“An additional funding boost to the Scottish Welfare Fund will allow more people to apply in the first place and possibly allow the eligibility criteria to be relaxed on a case by case basis to allow more people to help.”
Director of Poverty Alliance, Peter Kelly said: “The action we take to protect our most vulnerable in the coming weeks will be a test of our shared values of justice and compassion.
“In the coming months we expect to see thousands of people plunged into destitution unless we significantly increase this vital safety net. The Scottish Government should immediately top-up the Scottish Welfare Fund and commit to continually review funding to meet demand.”
And John Dickie, director of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland said: “Families who are already struggling to get by are now facing a massive increase in the risk of being left without enough money to feed their children and pay essential bills.
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Hide Ad“The Scottish Welfare Fund is a hugely important statutory source of cash support that provides a lifeline to households across the country. Unprecedented times now require unprecedented additional investment as part of a package of support for struggling families.”
The Scottish Government’s Communtities Secretary Aileen Campbell, has said that the government is looking at increasing the SWF and taking other measures to help those who experience a sudden fall in income as a result of the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Greens have demanded more measures by the UK government to protect those who could lose their job and home. The emergency legislation which will be introduced at Westminster, will have to receive consent at Holyrood, and Patrick Harvie said it currently lacks what is required to “protect those who are facing destitution as a result of the country shutting down.”
He said: “This emergency legislation is quite rightly the product of cross-party working at Westminster, and contains essential measures to increase the capacity of the NHS to deal with this crisis. The Scottish Parliament will scrutinise it as quickly and carefully as possible.
“Ireland is providing a basic income to self-employed people, France is suspending rents and energy bills and Sweden has guaranteed 90 per cent of people’s pay. The UK’s response fails to match this kind of action. We should be guaranteeing people’s basic income and that there will be no evictions as a result of this epidemic.
“This crisis is unprecedented and requires more than business loans. It requires the bold decisive leadership of state intervention.”
Join our Facebook group Coronavirus in Scotland. Whether you know of a vulnerable person who is in need of help, a local community proactively helping others or a group offering their services to those hit hardest, this is the place to communicate it.