Tackling Poverty Update - 28 October 2024

Post Budget impact

Carers Allowance

The change announced in the budget this week relating to the earnings threshold does not apply to Scotland due to the launch of the Carer Support Payment in Fife on 19th August 2024.

From this date existing claimants are undergoing a migration process from the old Carers Allowance to the new Scottish Security benefit, Carers Support Payment.

Carer Support Payment - mygov.scot This migration  will be completed by Spring 2025.

This Carer Support Payment is administered by Social Security Scotland. Any changes to the criteria for this will be announced by the Scottish Government.

If there are any changes to the criteria the Fife Benefit Checker calculations will automatically update on any implementation date, The Our Fife website information will update at the point of announcement, and we will ensure a brief notice of any announcement is included within these Poverty updates

National Living Wage increase

  • The minimum wage paid by employers for over-21's is to rise from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour.
  • The rate for 18- 20-year-olds will increase from £8.60 to £10. For 16- and 17-year-olds, wages will rise from £6.40 per hour to £7.55.
  • The separate apprentice rate which applies to eligible people under 19 - or those over 19 in the first year of an apprenticeship – will also increase from £6.40 an hour, to £7.55.

All of these changes are from April in line with the new financial year.

Benefit Payment Rates increase

Universal Credit will rise by 1.7% in April, in line with inflation. The rise means the standard allowance, for a single person aged under 25, will go up by £5.30 a month to about £317. For a couple aged over 25, the rise is likely to be £10.50 to £628 a month.

Review of Health and Disability Benefits

This announcement is likely to impact Fife residents who receive a disability premium within their Universal Credit claim or claim Statutory Sick pay.

Health and disability benefits are being devolved and administered by Social Security Scotland. There has been no announcement so far by the Scottish Government that it will impact Adult Disability Payment (ADP) or Child Disability Payment (CDP).

Existing claimants of Personal Independence Payment ( PIP) are still being migrated over to Adult Disability Payment . The latest statistics show that 63% of Scottish claimants have completed this process so far and the remainder will be completed by the end of 2025.

Attendance Allowance is the latest benefit to devolve to Scotland with the introduction of Pension Age Disability Payment. This is being introduced in phases that started this month, Fife is expected to be impacted between now and 22nd April 2025. Existing Attendance Allowance claimants will be migrated over to the new benefit after the scheme opens for new applications in Fife.

Existing claimants of other DWP administered benefits, such as Employment Support Allowance (ESA), are currently within a managed migration process to move to Universal Credit by March 2025.

State Pension

This will rise in line with average earnings, going up by 4.1% in April. It means

  • The full, new flat-rate state pension (for those who reached state pension age after April 2016) is expected to increase to £230.30 a week. That will take it to £11,975 a year, a rise of £473 compared with now
  • The full, old basic state pension (for those who reached state pension age before April 2016) is expected to go up to £176.45 a week. That will take it to £9,175 a year, a rise of £361 compared with now.

Many thanks to Audrey Whyte Benefit Take up and Campaign Lead for preparing this briefing for this week’s update . Please get back to myself or Audrey for any details

awhyte@carfonline.org.uk

Please get in touch if you would like to know more about any of the updates this week,

Contact: Sheena Watson

Email: sheena.watson@fife.gov.uk