During June we
- responded to 60 enquiries
- made 53 decisions
- 14 community care grants
- 39 crisis grants
- upheld 8 (57%) of community care grants and 6 (15%) of crisis grants
- signposted an additional 57 applicants to other sources of assistance. 67% of these were calling us instead of their local council in error. Another 18% noted that they had accessibility issues relating to contacting the council as there was no freephone number
- received 15 enquiries from local council liaison contacts seeking advice on the guidance
Engagement and outreach
We are pleased to share several updates from our work this year:
Online training tool
Our free online training resource went live on 13 June 2025. Designed for Scottish Welfare Fund decision makers, it currently offers two modules: Analysis and Judgement and Investigation Skills. Both courses are available on our website: SPSO training
Updated SWF guidance and training
The revised SWF Guidance was published in April 2025. To support its implementation, we delivered training to around 700 decision makers across all Scottish councils. The sessions covered key updates including the new crisis grant methodology, low-income calculation, trust-based evidence gathering, and a renewed focus on dignity, respect, and learning from first tier reviews.
Engagement with third sector
We hosted two online presentations for third sector organisations to explain the changes introduced in the updated guidance. Attendees included housing associations, welfare rights groups, Citizens Advice and Women’s Aid.
Looking ahead: improving accessibility
Accessibility remains a top priority for the year ahead.
We are committed to ensuring that both the fund and the review process are as accessible and inclusive as possible. To support this commitment, we are planning several key initiatives:
- enhancing the usability of our online application form to make it more user-friendly and intuitive
- working with our service users to improve the clarity and readability of our decision letters
- continuing to monitor review activity across local authorities and exploring ways to broaden access to the review process
- exploring new approaches to share more information about our decision-making, helping to promote learning and increase the impact of our work
We will keep you updated on the progress of these initiatives throughout the year.
Case studies
We changed a number of decisions this month due to the council not correctly making sufficient enquiries during the application and first tier process. Read about these in the searchable case directory on our website.