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Major new research by the Fraser of Allander Institute shows that social work welfare rights services have helped create substantial wealth and new jobs in Glasgow over the last year.

The report, The Impact of Welfare Spending on the Glasgow Economy, concludes that the welfare rights team of Glasgow Council’s social work department has generated £11 million of additional welfare benefits, and the extra money in the local economy has helped create 264 jobs (163 of them in Glasgow). These new posts themselves attract wages of around £5 million Scotland-wide and £3 million in Glasgow.

Launching the report, councillor John Gray, convenor of Glasgow Council’s social work committee, said: "The creation of so many jobs is a significant boon to the city."

The report, supported by the council and the Child Poverty Action Group, concludes that all local councils should run effective welfare rights services as a method of tackling social exclusion and says: "Local authority financial investment in welfare rights is a cost-effective method of promoting social inclusion and urban generation".