Meeting of the Parliament 01 November 2022
We recognise that. Many of the things that I have already talked about will help people with disabled family members. The Scottish welfare fund, which we also fund, is available to families that have someone with a disability. We will continue to look at what more we can do within the context of a very constrained financial outlook.
We are already spending £460 million above the level of funding that we receive from the UK Government in relation to benefit expenditure. That is substantial.
We are doing much more to support people. We are also leading the way with the provision of the most generous universal free school meal provision in the UK, so that our children are not hungry in school and can focus on learning. We also continue to provide funding for local authorities across Scotland for schemes such as the council tax reduction scheme, and the Scottish welfare fund, which I just mentioned. Those schemes can provide much-needed support to vulnerable households.
Furthermore, we are the only part of the UK to have a statutory debt repayment scheme, which offers important protections for those taking control of their debt. We have also taken action on the protected minimum balance that can be retained in relation to a bank arrestment—the minister will say more on that later.
We recognise that financial difficulties can sometimes overwhelm people. At those most difficult times, advice services play a vital role in helping people to understand what they are entitled to and what their rights are. That is why we have allocated £12.5 million this year to advice services, including advice on debt, welfare and income maximisation. Over the past four years, our Money Talk Team service has put just over £47 million into the pockets of almost 21,500 people. We have also committed to an additional £1.2 million package to enable the expansion of energy advice services. That is in addition to our welfare advice practitioners in general practices, who help people when they go to see a health professional.
I will close now, Presiding Officer.