Scottish Welfare Fund Statistics: Annual Update: 2021-22

The Scottish Welfare Fund comprises Community Care Grants – which help people to live independently – and Crisis Grants, which provide a safety net in a disaster or emergency.

This publication provides information on the SWF for 2021/22, and since 2013 when the scheme began.

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Gender balance of applicants for SWF Awards

Since the scheme began in April 2013, there is a clear gender difference in applicants for Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants. From 2013 until around the start of the pandemic, the majority of applicants for Crisis Grants were male, whereas this has now changed, and most applicants are now female – 54% in 2021-22 (Table 3, Chart 16).

There has always been a minority of males applying for Community Care Grants, and the proportion has declined over the duration of the scheme, and now sits at 40% in 2021-22 (Table 2, Chart 16).

A notable pattern that can be seen is that the proportion of males, especially when applying for Crisis Grants, falls annually in the third quarter. This could relate to the annual peak in births which occurs in late September, a time when new mothers may be more likely to apply for funding.

Chart 16: Proportion of Applications for Community Care Grants and Crisis Grants by males – Quarterly
Line chart showing proportions of CCG and Crisis applications from males.

Contact

Email: SocialSecurityStats@gov.scot

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