Benefit claims are on the increase in West Lothian

New figures presented to the Corporate Policy and Resources Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel showed that almost 40 per cent of those in receipt of Universal Credit are actually in work.

And while Universal Credit is a nationally managed benefit, it has a knock-on effect on the costs the council faces in providing other assistance, such as help under the Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS).

Both the national UC and the local-run council tax reduction scheme have the lowest take-up of any benefits.

Presenting his horizon scan of the economic climate, head of finance Patrick Welsh told the panel: “Unemployment at local authority level is measured by the proportion of working age people not in work. In West Lothian this is 2.6 per cent for January 2024, which is lower than the Scottish rate (3.8 per cent) and the UK rate (4.2 per cent).”

Earlier the council’s anti poverty manager Nahid Hanif told councillors: “The latest UC statistics published by the DWP state, as of January 2024, 17,972 people are in receipt of UC in West Lothian, 63 per cent are not in employment with 37 per cent in work.

“There are 14,479 households in receipt of CTRS which is the highest it has been since September 2021 and it is steadily increasing.

“WLC recognises that this is an area of pressure as currently we had an estimated overspend of £1.149 million as at the end of February 2024. This will continue to be monitored on a monthly basis.”