COUNCILS are failing to advertise a fund set up to help struggling Scots amid fears they would not be able to cope with the high level of demand, a new report has found.

Researchers said staff delivering the Scottish Welfare Fund (SWF) – which provides non-repayable cash grants to people who run out of money for food and other basics – don’t feel “they have the resources necessary to cope with the demand which advertising would create”.

The finding is contained in a report published by A Menu For Change, a three-year project led by Oxfam Scotland, the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) in Scotland, Nourish Scotland and the Poverty Alliance and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

It said the £38 million budget for the SWF has remained unchanged since it was introduced in 2013. This amounts to a real-terms cut, while many local authorities said they had to use “significant funds” from their own pockets to keep it running.

Meanwhile, charities insist the number of people forced to use food banks continues to grow. Earlier this year, it emerged almost half a million parcels were handed out by food banks in 18 months – nearly double the number previously thought.

David Hilber, project officer at A Menu for Change, said: “If you’ve run out of money, the Scottish Welfare Fund should be there to ensure you can get cash to buy food and other essentials, but our research has found barriers along the way. Too few people know that the fund exists and councils say they can’t afford to properly advertise it because of the potential scale of the demand.”

He called for more cash “to properly resource this lifeline”.

The Scottish Welfare Fund: Strengthening the Safety Net report, written by Mr Hilber and Dr Mary Anne MacLeod, found the “underfunding of the administration budget was consistently raised by SWF staff”.

It said none of the councils spoken to “actively advertise” the fund, adding: “One local authority interviewee joked, ‘Don’t tell anyone we’re out there!’ This was a sentiment expressed by many SWF staff members who took part in the research.

“Based on interviews with those delivering the SWF, there is evidence that local authorities choose not to advertise the fund, not because they do not want people to receive their entitlements, but because they don’t feel they have the resources necessary to cope with the demand which advertising would create.”

The report also found there is a “fundamental under-resourcing”, adding: “To address this, the Scottish Government should consult with every local authority to determine the funding each requires to implement practice that would ensure everyone who needs support through the SWF knows about its existence and is able to easily access a fast, high quality decision.

“Increasing local authorities’ ability to advertise and administer the fund will undoubtedly impact how much money is available to give to applicants.”

It said most councils do not offer face-to-face applications for vulnerable clients – despite this being in national guidance – because they lack the staff and space.

And it insisted that by paying applicants in cash rather than vouchers, better referring clients to wider support and giving decisions over the phone, people would get the help they needed more quickly. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said more than £190m has been paid out from the SWF.