Household Support Fund: FOI release

Information requested

Why the Scottish Government has not replicated the UK Government's Household Support Fund?

Response

It is for Scottish Ministers to decide on the policy priorities for Scotland in areas of devolved competence, and this is an area where devolved competence applies.

The Scottish Government has chosen not have a direct like for like equivalent of the Household Support Fund, but instead has put in place a basket of measures designed to tackle poverty and protect people as far as possible during the ongoing cost of living crisis, allocating funding of around £3 billion per annum to these policies since 2022-23.

These include a range of cost of living measures such as the Scottish child payment, which is estimated to lift 50,000 children out of poverty in 2023-24; quality funded early learning and child care to all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds; free bus travel, for over 2 million people, including all children and young people under 22, disabled people and everyone aged 60 and over; free school meals to all pupils in primaries 1 to 5 and in special schools, saving families on average £400 per child per year.

The Scottish Government also supported those in fuel crisis this winter (2023/24) through the £30m Fuel Insecurity Fund, which received an increase in funding during the height of the energy bills crisis, available to households at risk of self-rationing or self-disconnecting their energy use this winter.

In recognition of the seriousness of the ongoing cost of living crisis, the Scottish Government introduced the emergency Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 with the key aims of protecting tenants by stabilising their housing costs through the introduction of a temporary rent cap, reducing impacts on the health and wellbeing of tenants caused by being evicted and/or made homeless by giving them more time to find alternative accommodation, and seeking to avoid tenants being evicted during the cost of living crisis (unless an exemption applies), through a moratorium on the enforcement of eviction orders. The Act will remain in place until 31 March 2024.

The Scottish Government also funds a Winter Heating Payment which provides a stable, reliable annual £55 payment; the Child Winter Heating Payment, which provides financial support to families of severely disabled children and young people; and the Scottish Welfare Fund which provides an essential source of occasional support for those in the greatest financial stress.

Additionally, the Scottish Government cost of living website offers a range of advice and resources. You can visit the website here: Cost of living crisis - Cost of Living Support Scotland (campaign.gov.scot).

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