Welfare Funds (Scotland) Welfare Reform Committee Consultation Response

Shelter Scotland is in favour of the Bill. It will achieve the provision of assistance for short term need and community care as long as it continues to be resourced financially at the current levels and inasmuch as it is underpinned by robust guidance. Families under exceptional pressure should be added as a category for eligibility.

Local authority staff should be required to record all inquiries which do not progress to the point of application in order to protect against judgements on eligibility being made prematurely.

Regular review of the fund should be built into the Bill to ensure that it remains effective and evolves in response to social changes and demands.

The Bill needs to explicitly clarify that no repayment of rewards under the Welfare Funds will be required.

The joint commissioning and outsourcing of the Funds by local authorities could be positive but should always taking into account existing local provision and contracts should only be given to suitable providers who can be held to account.

We are content with the level of detail currently included in the Bill. However, there are some elements of the draft regulations that we would want to ensure were considered before they are finalised.