INTRODUCTION TO WELFARE RIGHTS

DATE 18 – 20 and 25 – 27 April 2023

DATE 12 – 14 and 19 – 21 Sept 2023

DATE 16 – 18 and 23 – 25 Jan 2024

See detailed schedule below

This is essential training if you are starting out as a welfare rights adviser in Scotland or need a good understanding of the benefits system. It introduces you to the social security system and important concepts to help you maximise benefit entitlement. You will gain a detailed knowledge of the core benefits and assessments involved in welfare rights advice – universal credit, the assessment of limited capability for work and the assessment of adult disability payment. You will learn how to maximise entitlement and deal with problems.

The course covers:

■ Benefits overview

- The structure of the benefits system

- The range of UK and Scottish benefits available in different circumstances

- Key concepts in income-related benefit entitlement

■ Universal credit

- Who is entitled to universal credit

- Helping people claim and manage the system

- The transfer from legacy benefits

- The amounts that make up universal credit

- How universal credit awards are calculated

■ Work capability assessment

- What the work capability assessment is for

- Who has limited capability for work, and limited capability for work-related activity

- The process of going through an assessment

■ Advising about legacy benefits

- What are the legacy benefits that universal credit is replacing and who gets them

- Common issues and maximising entitlement

■ Adult disability payment

- Who is entitled to adult disability payment

- Understanding the assessment

- How to claim

This course is aimed at new advisers and support workers who have little or no experience of the benefits system.

You can add to this core training by also booking on Attendance allowance – an introduction, see page 11, and Child disability payment – an introduction, see page 16.

For information and to book a place please visit our website cpag.org.uk/scotland/training

This ‘3 full day equivalent’ course will be delivered online via Zoom. In order to avoid lengthy screen time, the delivery of the course will be spread across six mornings as follows;

April 2023 course

18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 April 2023

September 2023 course

12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21 September 2023

January 2023 course

16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 January 2024

Level - Introductory

Tutor - Liam Casey, Moira Escreet, Henri Krishna, Alison Lord, Angela Toal, Mark Willis

Time - 10am - 1pm each day

CPAG publication

Welfare benefits and tax credits handbook

Available to buy in print or online at cpag.org.uk/bookshop

For information and to book a place please visit our website cpag.org.uk/scotland/training