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Publication date:March 2021
Citizens Advice Scotland welcomes this consultation, which reflects the pace and scope of Scotland’s climate ambitions. We are pleased that the Scottish Government has proposed a principle-based, people-centred approach.
It is essential that the outcomes of this standard reflect the complex heating, cooling, and ventilation needs of Scotland’s housing stock, and widens accessibility to truly affordable, highly efficient housing for low income and fuel poor households. Developers should be encouraged to follow the best practices of community engagement and ethical business practice so that the full potential of the buildings covered by this standard is realised. To aid developers in making future proof decisions, clear, thorough, and accessible guidance should be issued alongside this standard.
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Publication date:February 2021
From March 2020 to January 2021, Citizens Advice Bureaux have provided over 131,000 pieces of advice on Universal Credit (UC).
› The £20 a week uplift brought the value of UC back in line with increases to the cost of living over the past 8 years, following years of below inflation increases and freezes.
› If the £20 weekly increase is removed, UC will be worth 11.5% less in real terms than it was when introduced in 2013.
› The uplift increases the number of CAB clients with complex debt needs who are able to meet essential living costs by 28%.
› Without the uplift, nearly 6 in 10 (58%) of CAB complex debt clients will be unable to meet essential living costs.
› If the uplift is removed, 60,000 people in Scotland including 20,000 children will be pushed into poverty.CAS is calling for: The £20 a week UC uplift to be made permanent in the March 3rd Budget.
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Publication date:February 2021Spotlight:
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Publication date:February 2021Spotlight:
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Publication date:February 2021Spotlight:
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Publication date:February 2021Spotlight:
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Publication date:February 2021
The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2021, passed yesterday on Tuesday 9th February, increases social security payments by the rate of CPI inflation (0.5%) from 1st April 2021. However, if the £20 a week uplift to UC is not made permanent in the Budget, this uprating is negated. From April, if the £20 weekly uplift is removed the value of UC’s Standard Allowance will drop by as much as a quarter (25%), when people need this money most. Removing the £20 a week uplift will leave the Standard Allowance for UC worth less in real terms in 2021-22 than when it was first introduced 8 years ago in 2013.
CAS is calling for: The £20 a week uplift to be made permanent
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Publication date:February 2021
The Social Security Benefits Up-rating Order 2021 increases social security payments by the rate of CPI inflation (0.5%) from 1st April 2021. CAS welcome any increase to social security payments including Universal Credit (UC). However, current legislation prevents the future of the temporary £20 a week uplift to Universal Credit (UC) from being included in this annual review of benefit rates – at a time when uncertainty around the future of the £20 uplift is growing. Due to the benefits freeze from 2016 to 2019, UC rates remained at 2015/16 levels, meaning that in real terms the value of social security payments have fallen.
If the £20 a week uplift to UC is not made permanent, any inflation-related uprating is negated. People on UC are at risk of a serious shock to their income, including the millions claiming for the first time as a result of the pandemic. To avoid a rise in poverty, greater strains on public services and harming economic recovery, the £20 a week uplift must be maintained.Spotlight: -
Publication date:February 2021Spotlight:
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Publication date:January 2021
MP Briefing in support of 18 January Opposition motion to keep the £20 a week UC uplift.
An unprecedented number of people have claimed UC for the first time since March, with the total number of UC recipients in Scotland doubling since January 2020 to 475,000 people. At the start of the pandemic, CAS welcomed the UK Government increasing UC payments by £20 a week – an annual increase of £1,040. CAS now recommends that the £20 increase to Universal Credit is made permanent in the Spring Budget.
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Publication date:January 2021
In this submission CAS sets out two much needed policy actions that must be included in the Budget. The first is to ensure that Universal Credit (UC) is maintained at an adequate level to effectively fulfil its function as a vital safety net and public service. Making the £20 a week increase permanent is the first step to ensuring that UC can meet the needs of the increasing number of people relying on UC. The second is to allow UC to become a better tool for recovery and support more people into work when the economy can open back up, as well as those already in work and claiming UC.
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Publication date:January 2021
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Publication date:January 2021
CAS recommends the £20 a week increase to UC is made permanent.
If the uplift is removed, it will have the following impacts:
- People across Scotland on Universal Credit will face a significant income shock and be pushed into poverty.
- Financial hardship will be exacerbated, with wider health and economic impacts.
- Those already struggling will be hardest hit. An additional 1 in 6 Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) clients in complex debt will be pushed into an income crisis.
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Publication date:December 2020
This report presents a summary and analysis of all advice sought and delivered by the Scottish Citizens Advice network between April 2019 and March 2020.
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Publication date:December 2020
CAS Financial Statements for year ended 31st March 2019.
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Publication date:December 2020
This is the Annual Report for Citizens Advice Scotland for the 2019-20 financial year.
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MPs will debate excess delivery charges at Westminster on 9 December 2020. CAS has campaigned on this issue for a number of years - read CAS's briefing to MPs here.Publication date:December 2020Spotlight:
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Publication date:December 2020
In 2018-19, the Citizens Advice network helped over 270,000 clients in Scotland with almost 750,000 advice issues. With support from the network, clients had financial gains of over £131 million and our self-help website Advice in Scotland received approximately 3.7 million views.
The Citizens Advice network issued 311,714 pieces of advice on benefit issues, the single largest area of advice for the network in 2018-19. Since February this year the network has provided over 85,000 pieces of advice on Universal Credit alone.
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This document contains data on housing advice code trends and the most common housing advice codes.Publication date:December 2020
This document summarises trends in advice code data related to housing. All charts are based on advice code data. These are recorded by advisers every time advice in relation to a particular topic is issued. All figures are expressed as percentages of their “parent” advice code category: e.g. housing advice is expressed as a proportion of all advice issues, and PRS advice is expressed as a proportion of all housing advice. This allows for more effective comparisons between months when overall numbers of clients fluctuate and/or there are changes in advice provision (e.g. the shift to telephone and email at lockdown).
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The Citizens Advice Scotland network magazinePublication date:December 2020
Issue of 4 of the Citizens Advice network in Scotland magazine.
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Stressed About Debt? High costs of energy, food and fuel mean that many people are finding it impossible to keep up, worrying about debt or falling behind on bills. The Citizens Advice network in Scotland is here for you, with free, confidential and impartial advice in a variety of ways.