Interim report on the report the evidence that it has heard so far and to make some key points, given the disturbing nature of what it has heard. The situation with regard to the 'bedroom tax' remains dynamic, with the number of tenants affected and arrears levels changing by the month.
The removal of the spare room subsidy, also known as the bedroom tax or under occupation penalty, came into force on 1 April 2013. The aim of the policy was twofold: to reduce housing benefit expenditure, and to use existing public sector housing stock more efficiently.
The government estimated that 80,000 claimants in Scotland would be affected by the bedroom tax, with an average weekly loss of £12. This represented approximately 33% of the working age housing benefit claimants in Scotland.
Report on the Housing Benefit Under-Occupation Charge to the Welfare Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament.
The research was commissioned to give a deeper understanding of scale and the depth of those affected (at Scottish and local authority level) by the under-occupation charge and the capacity of the system to meet down-sizing demand via one bed vacancies coming forward in a given year (a rough proxy for capacity).
Report that relates to Section 4 of the Act which places an obligation on Scottish Ministers to report to the Scottish Parliament over the next five years on the impact that the UK Welfare Reform Act is likely to have on people in Scotland.
It includes:
The Expert Working Group on Welfare was established to review the Scottish Government's work on the cost of the current benefits system, their plans for delivery of benefit payments in an independent Scotland, and provide views on transitional issues that would be relevant to the continued delivery of benefit payments in the event of independence.
This report presents a preliminary forecast of benefit spending in Scotland through to 2017-18 that covers the actual costs of the payments to individuals, and the costs to government of administering these payments.
Report that outlines the key findings of a survey into people's views and concerns about bedroom tax and other changes to housing benefit in Scotland. It reveals the potentially devastating impact of one of the most controversial welfare reforms on the lives of disabled people and their families.
Analysis to explore how far patterns of change in public attitudes to poverty and welfare relate to (and may be explained by) political and economic developments and experiences, both at the individual and societal level.
Study intended to inform the preparations for the phased ;implementation of Universal Credit from April 2013.
The most deprived areas in Scotland will take the biggest financial hit when the present welfare reforms come into effect. This is the conclusion of research commissioned by the Scottish Parliament’s Welfare Reform Committee.
One of a series of papers prepared in the context of our second 'conversation', funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), on issues related to possible constitutional change in Scotland.