THE Scottish Government will look to end the stigma around benefit uptake as part of a new strategy.
Social Security Scotland is taking over benefits powers in Scotland, with a number of payments already administered by the agency.
But the Scottish Government is looking at ways to increase the number of people who receive benefits.
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The new strategy, the first revision since 2019, said: “We recognise that access to social security is a human right and therefore no person should be, or feel, discriminated against when accessing the benefits they are entitled to.
“We will work alongside stakeholders and engage with those with lived experience to understand and work together to remove the factors which are driving stigma.”
The strategy also says the Scottish Government will work to improve the targeting of information related to benefits, while attempting to remove barriers.
Social Justice Secretary Shona Robison said: “Social security is a collective investment in building a better and fairer society and part of that is ensuring people are aware of, and can access, the financial support to which they are entitled.
“The pandemic has made us even more aware of the importance of a strong social security safety net, alongside skills, employment and childcare support, and our new benefit take-up strategy sets out how we will ensure we reach those in need.
“We have seen good levels of take-up of the Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Payments, which support families on low incomes, with initial estimates ranging between 77% and 84%.
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“As part of our national mission to tackle poverty we are determined that everybody should be able to access payments they are due.
“We will invest £10 million over this parliament to increase advice services, with a focus on providing these in accessible settings and targeting families.
“This investment will support our ambition to maximise incomes, tackle poverty and improve wellbeing, and this will be more vital than ever as we continue our recovery from Covid-19.”
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