Skip to main content
CPAG Welfare Rights Home

User account menu

  • Log in

Utility menu - Welfare Rights

  • CPAG Home
  • Shop
  • Training & events

Main navigation

  • Support for advisers
    • Advice line for advisers
    • Support for advisers in England and Wales
    • Support for advisers in Scotland
    • Tell us about your case
  • Handbooks
    • Online handbooks
  • Key topics
    • Cost of living
    • Universal credit
    • Migration to universal credit
    • Survivors of domestic abuse
    • Benefits for migrants
    • Debt
    • Housing costs
    • Personal independence payment
    • Sanctions and work-related requirements
    • Work capability assessment
  • Tools & templates
    • Universal credit
    • Migration to universal credit
    • Benefits for migrants
    • Personal independence payment
    • Work capability assessment
    • Revision, supersession and appeal procedure
    • Judicial review
  • Benefits in Scotland
    • Scottish benefits
    • More information about benefits in Scotland
    • Other CPAG resources on benefits in Scotland
  • Bulletins & articles
    • Welfare Rights Bulletin
    • Articles
    • eBulletins
  • Test cases
    • About legal test cases
    • Support with an Upper Tribunal case
    • Test case updates
    • Refer a test case
    • Support with the judicial review process
Menu
Search

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Welfare rights
  3. Benefits in Scotland
  4. More information about benefits in Scotland
  5. Prison and benefits factsheets

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Welfare rights
  3. Benefits in Scotland
  4. More information about benefits in Scotland
  5. Prison and benefits factsheets

Prison and benefits

Most social security benefits are affected if you are in prison. This factsheet outlines the main issues that come up if you are remanded in custody or if you are serving a prison sentence.

Download the factsheet

Prison and benefits April 2024

Download .Prison and benefits April 2024pdf (816.86kb)
Last reviewed
9 April 2024
Relevant to
Scotland,

Also in this section

Prison and benefits factsheets

  • Financial help for families affected by imprisonment
  • Prison and benefits

    Advice for advisers

    Free, expert advice on benefit and tax credit issues if you’re a frontline adviser or support worker.

    Contact the advice line.

    • [email protected]
    • [email protected]

    WR Footer

    • Become a subscriber
    • Advice line for advisers
    • Training and events
    • eLearning
    • CPAG shop

    CPAG's Advice and Rights Team

    • Follow us on Twitter

    © 2024 CPAG | Child Poverty Action Group is a charity registered in England and Wales (registration number 294841) and in Scotland (registration number SC039339)

    Company limited by guarantee registered in England (registration number 1993854)

    Housekeeping (footer)

    • Disclaimer
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies
    • Terms and conditions
    • Feedback and complaints
    Site built by Agile Collective
    End Child Poverty Registered with Fundaraising Regulator
    • Child poverty in the UK
      • What is poverty?
      • Poverty: facts and figures
      • Causes of poverty
      • Effects of poverty
      • Solutions to poverty
    • What we do
      • Our impact
      • Our objectives
      • Our campaigns
        • Imagine
        • End child poverty
        • End child poverty in Scotland
        • Scottish Campaign on Rights to Social Security
        • Past campaigns
      • Project work
        • Cost of the School Day
          • Resources for tackling poverty in schools
            • All Cost of the School Day resources
            • Toolkits
            • Calendar
            • eLearning
            • Ideas Bank
              • Awareness, values and ethos
                • Using data to understand context
                • Cost of the School Day Information Booklet for Families
                • Nurturing approaches
                • Building understanding of the local community
                • Ongoing awareness raising
                • Rebranding support to boost uptake
              • Entitlements and financial support
                • Family support staff
                • Information and referrals
                • Boosting free school meal uptake
                • Supporting and referring
                • Highlighting financial support and entitlements
                • Costs and money on school website
              • School uniform
                • Affordable uniform policy
                • Simple, affordable and inclusive uniform policy
                • Consultation and provision
                • Cluster-wide uniform bank
                • North Ayrshire Plus uniform station
                • Parent-led uniform stall
                • Uniform provision
                • Using PEF for PE kits
              • Consulting and planning
                • Parents leading consultation
                • Listening to families
                • Parental engagement and outreach
                • Children consulting their school community
                • Whole school approaches
                • Creating a Cost of the School Day policy with learners
              • Eating at school
                • Breakfast club open to all
                • Toast in classrooms
                • Readiness to learn
                • Breakfast, breaktimes and lunch
              • Events, celebrations and fundraising
                • Pre-loved prom initiative
                • Supporting attendance and easing pressure
                • Word Book Day family event
                • World Book Week tents
                • Stress-free Halloween celebrations at school
                • Non-stigmatising online fundraising
              • Learners in the lead
                • Cost of the School Day pupil group
                • School shouldn't cost - let us help
                • Learners leading on cost initiatives
                • Pupils asking parents and carers about costs
                • Cost of the School Day Voice - spotlight pupil groups
                • Young people sharing their views about uniform at the Scottish Parliament
                • Learners take universal free school meal call to the Scottish Parliament
                • Talking directly to politicians about cost barriers at school
              • Communicating with families
                • Reaching out to communities
                • Open and clear communication about support
                • Picking up on problems
                • Offering non-stigmatising support
                • Don't let cost be a barrier
                • Communicating commitment to equity
                • Letting everyone know
                • Building relationships and keeping in touch
                • Engaging with partners in the community to share information with families
              • Trips, clubs and experiences
                • Finding funds to subsidise trips
                • Donations and community fundraising
                • Relationships and offering support
                • Tackling self-exclusion
              • Learning and resources
                • Curriculum costs and digital devices
                • Preparation station
                • Digital devices and connectivity
                • After school study cafes
              • Local authority approaches
                • Equity in South Lanarkshire
                • Kit for all, Dundee
                • Financial inclusion support officers in Glasgow
                • Dundee City Council's Cost of the School Day
                • Involving young people in financial inclusion in East Ayrshire schools
              • Parental involvement
                • Parents in partnership
                • Parent equality groups
                • Working with parent groups on costs
            • Big Question report and film
          • Cost of the School Day Voice network
          • Contact the Cost of the School Day team
          • The Cost of the School Day reports, blogs and briefings
        • Early Warning System
          • About the Early Warning System
          • Contact the Early Warning System team
          • Early Warning System findings
        • Managed migration
          • Tell us about your experience of moving to universal credit
        • Projects in England and Wales
          • Cost of the School Day
          • Early Warning System
          • Secure Futures for Children and Families
          • Managed migration
          • Universal credit, digitalisation and the rule of law
          • Your Work Your Way
        • Projects in Scotland
          • Strengthening Social Security: research into the five family payments
      • CPAG in Scotland
      • The CPAG team
        • CPAG staff
        • CPAG trustees
        • CPAG's patron and ambassadors
    • Policy and research
      • Findings from our projects
        • The Cost of a Child reports
        • Cost of the School Day reports, blogs and briefings
        • Early Warning System findings
        • Managed migration research project findings
        • Your Work Your Way - findings from the project
        • Secure Futures for Children and Families
        • Universal credit, digitalisation and the rule of law
      • Policy briefings and reports
        • David Webster briefings on benefit sanctions
      • CPAG's Poverty Journal
      • Policy books from CPAG
    • Welfare rights
      • Support for advisers
        • Advice line for advisers
        • Support for advisers in England and Wales
          • Support with the judicial review process
            • What judicial review is and how it can help
            • Judicial review template letters
              • Guide to using CPAG's judicial review pre-action letter templates
              • Universal credit and migration to universal credit
              • Other benefits and payments
              • Benefits for people in particular circumstances
              • Decisions, delays and challenging decisions
            • Pursuing to court and finding a solicitor
          • Support with an Upper Tribunal case
        • Support for advisers in Scotland
          • Advising low-income families in Scotland
          • Advising disabled people and carers in Scotland
          • Advising migrant groups in Scotland
          • Advising students in Scotland
          • Advising kinship carers in Scotland
          • Advising care-experienced young people in Scotland
          • Advising families with a child in the care system in Scotland
        • Tell us about your case
      • Handbooks
        • Online handbooks
      • Key topics
        • Cost of living
        • Universal credit
          • Universal credit and sanctions
          • Tax credits - moving on to universal credit
          • Universal credit - the basics
        • Migration to universal credit
        • Survivors of domestic abuse
          • Financial help for families fleeing domestic abuse
          • Unwanted payments of abuser’s benefit into your account
          • Exceptions to the two-child limit
          • Work-related requirements if you have recently experienced domestic abuse
          • Separated but living in the same property
          • Value of property and its effect on means-tested benefits
        • Benefits for migrants
        • Debt
        • Housing costs
        • Personal independence payment
        • Sanctions and work-related requirements
        • Work capability assessment
      • Tools & templates
        • Universal credit
        • Migration to universal credit
        • Benefits for migrants
        • Personal independence payment
        • Work capability assessment
        • Revision, supersession and appeal procedure
        • Judicial review
      • Benefits in Scotland
        • Scottish benefits
          • Children and young people
            • Pregnancy and baby payment
            • Early learning payment
            • School age payment
            • Best start foods
            • Scottish child payment
            • Residence rules for best start grant
            • Getting a best start grant if you are not getting a qualifying benefit
            • How to challenge a Social Security Scotland decision
          • Disability benefits
            • Child disability payment
            • Supporting information for child disability payment claims: suggestions for education staff
            • Child winter heating payment
            • Adult disability payment
            • Adult disability payment assessment
            • Pension age disability payment
            • How to challenge a disability benefit decision
          • Help with council tax
            • Council tax reduction
            • Council tax reduction if you live with an adult who is not your partner
            • Council tax reduction if you live in a band E to H property
            • Calculating the new Scottish council tax reduction
            • Challenging a council tax reduction decision
            • When your council tax reduction starts
            • If you get council tax reduction and your circumstances change
            • Other ways to reduce your council tax bill
          • Benefits for carers
            • Carer support payment
            • Carer's allowance supplement
            • Young carer grant
            • How to challenge a Social Security Scotland decision
          • Help with heating costs
            • Child winter heating payment
            • Winter heating payment
          • Scottish welfare fund
          • Other Scottish benefits
            • Universal credit Scottish choices
            • Funeral support payment
            • Discretionary housing payments in Scotland
            • Job start payment
        • More information about benefits in Scotland
          • Universal credit factsheets
            • Universal credit
            • Universal credit and students
            • Universal credit for lone parent students
            • Kinship carers and universal credit
            • Tax credits - moving on to universal credit
          • Families factsheets
            • Financial help in the early years
            • Financial help in the school years
            • Financial help for young parents
            • Benefits and tax credits for lone parent students
            • Parents claiming for young people in further education or training
            • Childcare costs: getting support
            • Children looked after by the local authority - impact on family benefits
            • Financial help for families fleeing domestic abuse
            • Universal credit for lone parent students
            • Financial help for families affected by imprisonment
          • Disability benefits factsheets
            • Benefits for disabled children and their families - a checklist
            • Benefits for disabled students
          • Benefits for migrants and refugees factsheets
            • Rights to benefits and tax credits for European nationals
            • EU citizen guide to claiming benefits in the UK
            • Benefits for new refugees
            • Benefits for resettled Afghans
            • Benefits for resettled Ukrainians
            • No recourse to public funds, person subject to immigration control and benefit entitlement
          • Kinship care factsheets
            • Kinship care and benefits – the essentials
            • Scottish child payment and kinship carers
            • Kinship carers and universal credit
          • Benefits for students and young people factsheets
            • Benefits and tax credits for students
            • Benefits and tax credits for lone parent students
            • Benefits for care-experienced students
            • Benefits for disabled students
            • Benefits for young people in further education or training
            • Universal credit and students
            • Parents claiming for young people in further education or training
            • Universal credit for lone parent students
            • Care-experienced young people and benefits
            • Students and carer support payment
          • Prison and benefits factsheets
            • Financial help for families affected by imprisonment
            • Prison and benefits
          • Veterans and benefits
        • Other CPAG resources on benefits in Scotland
      • Bulletins & articles
        • Welfare Rights Bulletin
        • Articles
        • eBulletins
      • Test cases
        • About legal test cases
        • Support with an Upper Tribunal case
        • Test case updates
        • Refer a test case
        • Support with the judicial review process
    • Get involved
      • Donate
        • Our supporter promise
      • Fundraise
        • Hold a fundraising event
        • Our fundraising heroes
        • Contact the fundraising team
      • A gift in your will
        • How to leave a gift in your will
        • The impact of your legacy
        • Supporter stories
          • Mike's story
          • Ruth's story
          • Gaynor's story
        • Donate in memory
      • Membership
      • Our campaigns
      • Help our work
        • Share your experience of the benefits system
        • Advisers - tell us about your case
        • Tell us about your experience of moving to universal credit
        • Voice network: young people take action on school costs
    • Shop
    • Training & events
    • Log in
    • CPAG Home