More money for cost of living support
Midlothian Councillors today approved spending of £535,000 to support local people during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Dedicated team
At the full Council meeting, councillors agreed to setting up a dedicated Scottish Welfare Fund team after hearing revenues staff were overwhelmed with applications for crisis and community care grants.
More than 9,000 applications
Processing 9,247 applications in 2023/23 had created a five-month delay in dealing with other work including new benefit claims and supporting households in Council Tax arrears.
Free up other staff
A total of £195,000 of the cost-of-living funding will now be spent on employing four full-time staff to deal solely with the increased Scottish Welfare Fund demand. This, in turn, will free up existing staff to clear the Council Tax and benefits backlog.
Increasing awards
A further £200,000 of Midlothian’s share of Scottish Government Covid Economic Recovery money, will be spent on supplementing the Scottish Welfare Fund awards to help keep them in line with inflation.
Working in partnership
The cross-party Cost of Living Taskforce will allocate the remaining £140,000, including funding continuing support for Trusted Partners such as the Red Cross. Trusted partners give cash to local people for food, fuel and other key essentials. Last year 2,355 payments were made.
Must act now
Council Leader Councillor Kelly Parry, who chairs the taskforce, said agreeing the funding now was vital if supports were to remain in place throughout the winter.
No sign of easing
She said: “With interest rates rising and people continuing to worry if they’ll be able to afford to put their heating on, this crisis is getting worse rather than better.
Acting quickly
“We need to be able to continue to respond quickly and effectively, which is what this funding will help us do, albeit within the very challenging financial constraints the council is facing.”
Warm and well hubs
Cllr Parry said spending £15,000 of the £140,000 would mean the taskforce could keep the four warm and well hubs in Lasswade, Danderhall, Newbattle and Loanhead libraries open. The hubs provide free hot drinks and soup with bread; as well as free access to electronic charging facilities, games and safe spaces.
Weekly wash and dry service
A weekly wash and dry laundry service for identified families and individuals will continue as will a joint initiative between the council and the British Red Cross delivering reheatable meals to vulnerable people who cannot cook because of challenges such as medical conditions.
Foodbanks and pantries
Councillors heard giving pantries and foodbanks an extra £2,000 each this year would cost around £24,000 in total, while withYOU housing support would carry on helping young people, adults and families.
Get help now
The Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) offers two types of grant. A crisis grant is for people facing an emergency or disaster such as a flood, losing a job or losing money. A community care grant is for people leaving care to live on their own or who need help to provide a safe and secure home for their family.