Scotland drifting away from nasty place as SNP Government launches funeral benefit for those on low income

From holyrood.com:

A new benefit to help people on low incomes pay for the costs of a funeral will be available from next week, the Scottish Government has announced. The funeral support payment launches on 16 September and has three elements: burial or cremation costs; a flat rate £700 toward expenses including funeral director fees, coffin and flowers; and some transport costs. It will be available for recipients of universal credit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, pension credit, housing benefit, child tax credit and disability or severe disability elements of the working tax credit.

https://www.holyrood.com/articles/news/new-scottish-funeral-benefit-launches-next-week

It’s only one thing, but together with many other emerging differences between Scotland and rUK, the first days of a better country are surely in the past. See these:

Different NHS Scotland and Wales reject England’s hostile environment for vulnerable migrant mothers-to-be

Scotland IS a different place as its universities offer guaranteed places to care leavers

Abuse of women and the disabled far higher in England than in Scotland

Less homicide, less knife crime, less domestic violence, safer cities and now much lower alcohol problems: should Scotland’s old stereotypes be sent south?

Racial hate crimes increase by 33% in England & Wales while falling by 10% in Scotland: Who says we’re not different?

Scottish Muslim students far less likely to report abuse or crime?

Only in Scotland! ‘A review of small country’s approaches to public policy reform in response to economic, demographic and other pressures found that only in Scotland could this ‘golden thread’ be so clearly discerned’

With 1 in 4 living wage employers already in Scotland, the Scottish Government aims to make this a ‘Living Wage Nation’

8% of the UK population and 28% of living wage employers. More evidence that we are different enough to want to run the whole show?

80 000 lowest paid workers in NHS England still on poverty wages as NHS Scotland follows Scottish Government policy to pay a living wage to all public-sector employees

Scottish care workers to receive Living Wage for ‘sleepover’ hours while English care workers receive only the National Minimum Wage.

Different Scotland in the UN report on ‘Workhouse Britain’

Scottish values making oil and gas firms a tad different too?

Are Scotland’s employers also different – more willing to pay a decent wage?

With 1 in 4 living wage employers already in Scotland, the Scottish Government aims to make this a ‘Living Wage Nation’

8% of the UK population and 28% of living wage employers. More evidence that we are different enough to want to run the whole show?

Another difference as UK small and medium-sized business people prefer Boris while Scots prefer…

Another difference between Scotland and rUK?

Scottish Government support for small businesses superior to that in non-Scottish parts of UK

7 thoughts on “Scotland drifting away from nasty place as SNP Government launches funeral benefit for those on low income”

Even within the ghastly constraints of devo settlement SNP Scottish Govt finding imaginative ways to assist victims of crime – including help with funeral costs for families who have lost a loved one as a victim of violent crime. Link and snippets from news.gov.scot below:

https://news.gov.scot/news/paying-the-cost-of-crime

Victims to benefit from new charge on criminals.

Offenders will be required to contribute to the cost of supporting victims of crime from November.

A new financial penalty will be imposed on all criminals who are sentenced to pay a court fine and the money raised will be banked in the Victim Surcharge Fund.

Victim support organisations will be able to apply to the fund to cover the costs of providing short-term and practical support such as new windows and locks for burglary victims or funeral expenses for families of murder victims.

38,474 fines were ordered by Scotland’s courts in 2017-18.

The level of surcharge that will be payable depending on the value of fine that is imposed by the court (ie the big criminals pay a lot more than the wee ones).

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