A WARNING has been sounded over the impact of welfare reforms on hard-pressed charities in Scotland amid concerns they will struggle to keep up with demand from the most needy once cuts to the benefits bill kick in.
Three-quarters of charities expect demand for services to continue to increase significantly over the next year, at a time when 81% of groups expect their own financial position to deteriorate, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) said in its annual State of the Sector report.
It said that 63% of charities and third sector organisations will be affected by the reforms, which are being brought in over the next four years in order to save £10 billion across the UK.
SCVO chief executive Martin Sime described the welfare cuts as criminal, with far-reaching effects on Scotland's most vulnerable citizens.
He said: "It's clear from this research that Westminster's criminal cuts to welfare are putting so much pressure on charities' services that some will struggle to keep up with demand from people and families in Scotland.
"The unprecedented worry and uncertainty surrounding the cuts is hitting the poorest the hardest as they face an endless cycle of appeals, bureaucracy and misinformation.
"All this, on top of trying to get by on a day-to-day basis, is pushing people and families to breaking point."
The sector in Scotland has already estimated it will lose around £200 million in public funding from Holyrood by 2014 as a result of the UK Coalition cuts.
Around 200 charity leaders from across the country will gather in Edinburgh today to discuss the cuts.
A key part of the Welfare Reform Act is to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for eligible working-age people with a Personal Independence Payment (PiP). Under the changes, two million claimants will be reassessed in the next four years, with only those considered to be in need of support qualifying for the new payment.
The long-term unemployed could also see their benefits cut under Chancellor George Osborne's reforms.
Around 57% of charities which are engaged in welfare activity are providing crisis support, with 69% currently giving advice on benefits north of the Border.
Further pressures on services will be endured by charities given that 80% of welfare reforms have still to take place, SCVO said.
Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, said his organisation was preparing for a "perfect storm" of cuts, high unemployment and living costs that would bring a rise in homelessness.
Tom Greatrex, MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Labour), said both the CAB offices in his constituency "will tell you that their workload has massively increased at a time of huge challenges to their own set-up".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article