Jo Blyth from CPAG in Scotland shares information about their upcoming training courses.
'Find below details about some of our upcoming courses including the Introduction to Welfare Rights and a range of Scottish benefits training courses.
And… all courses booked running from April onwards get a month free trial to Digital+ online subscription and 20% off a book recommended on the course.
A one month's free access to our full digital package, Digital+, includes:
Welfare Benefits and Tax Credits Handbook – online
Benefits for Migrants Handbook - online
Welfare Rights Bulletin – online (6 times per annum)
Decision-making tools and appeal letter generators
Welfare rights articles and news'
Introduction to Welfare Rights
10am - 1pm online, on 22, 23, 24, 29, 30 April & 1 May
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 gives you a detailed knowledge of the core benefits and assessments involved in welfare rights advice in Scotland. It will equip you to give accurate advice and carry out benefit checks using recommended methods and up-to-date resources.
The course covers:
Structure of the UK and Scottish social security systems
Checking eligibility and entitlement to benefits
Universal credit claims and amounts
Work capability assessment
Pension age benefits
Adult disability payment
Using the CPAG handbook and keeping up to date
This course is ideal for new advisers who have little or no experience of the benefits system. It is delivered on six half-days over two weeks and runs each day from 10am to 1pm.
There is also eLearning essential to the course which will take about an hour to complete.
The training uses the CPAG Welfare Benefits Handbook online and participants will need an individual subscription. You can take out a free subscription for one month Digital+ online subscription - one month free trial
Scottish Benefits Training Opportunities
We have a range of training courses focusing on Scottish benefits including:
Changing decisions - Scottish benefits 3 - 4 March
When a Scottish benefit is refused, an award is wrong or there is an overpayment, what steps can you take to put things right? You may already be familiar with the processes involved in changing DWP decisions, but the terminology, rules and processes for Scottish benefits are different. Social Security Scotland can make a ‘redetermination’ or a ‘determination without application’ to change a decision or an award.
There is also a new process to get an appeal underway and important new ‘short-term assistance’ is available. To make an effective case as an adviser and maximise income will depend on knowing which approach to take.
Pension age disability payment 6 March
The course will give you an understanding of the main rules and help you to identify people who may be entitled. As well as giving you a good foundation knowledge of PADP, this course will keep you up to date with the transfer of people from attendance allowance to PADP.
The course covers:
Who is entitled to PADP
How to claim
Some knock-on effects of getting an award of PADP
What’s happening with the transfer of attendance allowance claimants to PADP
This course is aimed at advisers and support workers with little or no experience of PADP.
Adult disability payment (ADP) is a benefit for working-age adults in Scotland who have extra care needs or mobility difficulties because of a disability. Getting an award of ADP can significantly increase income and so it is a crucial benefit for advisers and others to know about.
This introductory level course will give you an understanding of the main rules, help you to identify people who may be entitled and help them make successful applications.
The course covers:
Who is entitled to ADP
How to claim
How the ADP assessment works
How personal independence payment claimants are transferred to ADP
Carer support payment 12 March
Carer support payment is a new Scottish benefit which replaces carer’s allowance in Scotland. This course will update you on the transfer from carer’s allowance to carer support payment. You will gain an understanding of the main rules and how these are different from carer’s allowance to help you identify who may be entitled.
The course covers:
How carer’s allowance claimants will be transferred to carer support payment
Who is entitled to carer support payment
How the rules differ from carer’s allowance
How carer support payment affects entitlement to other benefits and devolved support
What further changes are planned for the future
Transferring to Scottish disability benefits 25 - 26 March
A system of Scottish disability benefits is replacing personal independence payment (PIP), disability living allowance (DLA) and attendance allowance (AA) for people living in Scotland. Child disability payment has completely replaced DLA for children. Adult disability payment is replacing PIP for new claimants and existing PIP claimants are in the process of being transferred. Next along is pension age disability payment, replacing attendance allowance. Starting in some pilot areas in autumn 2024, full roll-out begins from April 2025.
This course will help you advise confidently with an understanding of which rules are different or new, how the transfer process works, tactics when there is an existing appeal, and more.
The course covers:
Understanding new and different rules in the Scottish disability benefits
Advising on the transfer of existing claimants from PIP, DLA and AA
Other ‘crossover’ issues eg, what happens if you are waiting for a PIP or AA appeal and want to claim a Scottish disability benefit
Age transitions – disability benefit from age 16/18 and from pension age
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