Threshold for Help with School Costs (Free school meals and School clothing grants) in Scotland for UC claimants

Hi,

We are in a UC Live service area and note that the criteria for access to Help with School Costs has different thresholds depending on if parents are WTC/CTC or UC claimants.

This appears to be approx. the same for Free school meals - If claiming WTC & CTC the annual income is £6,420 and if claiming UC it is monthly earned income of £610 (£7,320 per annum). 

However, to claim for the School clothing grants the current threshold for WTC and/or CTC claimants is an annual income of less than £16,105 but for UC claimants the monthly earned income is £610 (£7,320 per annum).

I believe the thresholds are set by the Scottish Government and wondered if anyone else has had issues with claimants moving from Tax Credits to UC and now longer being able to claim the school clothing grant?  Or, if this has been raised as a social policy issue?

Thanks,

If someone is on most means tested benefits or they do not working or does not qualify for WTC due to low hours worked the higher income £16,105 limit applies.

If they work and would qualify for WTC & CTC together the lower £6,420 limit applies.

So it looks the same or similar amounts for UC as people who previously qualified for both WTC & CTC above, which would stop most working parents qualifying but others with pensions other incomes under the limit should still qualify if under the new lower UC monthly limit, strange?

https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/15246/School-clothing-grants My local Council’s and Scotland wide criteria.

We have that for free school meals but our criteria for school clothing grants states:

Who is eligible for a school clothing grant?

If you receive: Income Support, Income-Based Jobseekers Allowance, any income related element of Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit with monthly earned income not exceeding £610 per month, Working Tax Credit and/or Child Tax Credit (with a household income of less than £16,105), and your child is under the age of sixteen and attends a primary or secondary school, you may be eligible for a school clothing grant.

Unsure why this differs from your criteria…...

i think the criteria for clothing grants is set locally hence why their are variations.