Help for families to buy school clothing

dailyrecord.co.uk:

West Lothian Council is making funds available to help families buy school uniforms,The council executive has advised that £1,193,660 has been administered via the School Clothing Grant in the school academic year 2021/2022 to support 7404 pupils.In June 2021, the Scottish Government increased the minimum payment for school clothing grants to £120 for primary school pupils and £150 for secondary school pupils to start from the start of the 2022/23 academic year.However, in West Lothian, it was agreed to further increase payments to £150 for primary school pupils and £180 for secondary school pupils attending West Lothian Council schools.Applications for the School Clothing Grant payment for the 2022/23 academic year will be launching in the coming weeks via the West Lothian Council website.Ahead of the application period launching, you can find a full list of the eligibility criteria by visiting: https://www.westlothian.gov.uk/mealsandclothingWest Lothian Council’s Anti-Poverty Service is responsible for administering the school clothing grant locally.Nahid Hanif, West Lothian Council’s anti-poverty manager, updated those at the meeting how the Anti-Poverty Service has worked with Community Planning Partners to increase access to vital financial supports and to streamline application processes as per the strategic aims set out in the Community Planning Partnership Anti-Poverty Strategy.Income maximisation advisers are now co-located within seven high schools and work closely with teaching staff and support workers to identify and engage with families experiencing financial hardship.To date, the approach has seen extra income of £25,879 secured through Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits and financial support