Councils have been given a £20 million cash injection to bail out households hit by the “bedroom tax”.
Dundee City Council has been allocated £501,166 from the Scottish Government funding pot, with Fife Council receiving £800,831 and Perth and Kinross in line for £777,525.
Angus Council has been given £614,019, Stirling has been awarded £594,445 and Clackmannanshire is getting £264,794.
The funding will boost councils’ existing Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) budget, which Scotland-wide has £15m set aside to provide short-term help for people on housing benefit struggling to pay their rent.
It means Scotland’s DHP budget has swollen to £35m as the UK Government’s welfare reform measures in particular the spare room subsidy cut or so-called bedroom tax take their toll on households.
Housing and Welfare Minister Margaret Burgess said: “We are determined to do everything we can to help mitigate welfare cuts, including the ‘bedroom tax’, and this funding will make a real difference to people across Scotland.
“We also recognise the huge financial pressures that have been placed upon authorities by welfare reform. This is why we have made available an additional £20m to be distributed across every local authority.”
The funding was welcomed by homelessness charity Shelter Scotland.
Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown said: “It means that local authorities can now offer a lifeline to thousands more households across Scotland struggling to pay their rent as a direct result of the iniquitous bedroom tax.
“The challenge now is for all local authorities across Scotland to act quickly and get the money to tenants to help them pay their rent.
“Local authorities must make sure struggling tenants know that more help is at hand and do all they can to help the maximum number of people this year.”