Members' Business — S6M-12301 Evelyn Tweed: Increasing Benefits Uptake in the Current Economic Climate

That the Parliament believes that it is important that people are accessing all the benefits that they are entitled to, especially in the current economic climate; notes reports from 2023 that £19 billion of benefits went unclaimed across the UK; understands that some benefits are especially undersubscribed; further understands that 25% of those eligible for the Young Carer Grant do not currently claim it, as well as 39% of those eligible for Funeral Support Payment; notes the encouragement for the people of Scotland, including those in the Stirling constituency, to ensure that they are receiving all the support that they are eligible for; highlights what it sees as the useful services available, such as Citizens Advice Scotland, Age UK, and various online calculators to help individuals identify benefits that they may be missing out on; understands that Advice Direct Scotland’s benefits calculator allows people to check their entitlement to both devolved and reserved benefits, and that it has been used by 56,000 people to identify over £43 million of unclaimed money; believes that a level of stigma is still associated with accessing some benefits; notes the belief that, although great work is underway, more work is required in this area, and recognises the stakeholders that are working to widen access to and reduce the stigma associated with benefits.