A NEW service has been launched for Scots to calculate their benefits entitlement in a bid to address the financial hardship facing many families.
The online tool is the first to fully integrate devolved benefits.
It has been produced by Scotland’s national advice service, Advice Direct Scotland, and data analytics developer Inbest, having been brought together by FinTech Scotland.
The calculator provides a free and impartial assessment of entitlement to a range of benefits such as Universal Credit (UC), crisis grants and support payments.
The launch follows an 87% increase in Scotland’s claimant count between December 2019 and December last year – up from 110,705 to 207,180 – largely caused by the economic impact of the pandemic. The UK Government has not published figures on uptake of UC, but it is estimated that hundreds of millions of pounds in benefits goes unclaimed every year.
A new devolved benefit, the Scottish Child Payment, will start on February 15 for parents or carers on low incomes who have a child under six. The Scottish Government is maximising uptake of the new payment and it is hoped the new tool will further assist with this.
The new tool can be found at advice.scot
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