Tag: Child Winter Heating Assistance payment

Over £2.5 million for families of disabled children

Thousands of families of disabled children in Scotland have received an additional £200 to help heat their homes this winter.

More than 13,000 families of a disabled child, on the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for Children, have had a Child Winter Heating Assistance payment. These payments were made automatically using information provided by the Department for Work and Pensions.

As of Friday 11 December, a total of £2.5 million has been invested in Child Winter Heating Assistance payment.

Where a child has someone managing their benefits, Social Security Scotland has written to them to enable them to process this payment.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “I am delighted that we have successfully delivered our first disability benefit, the new Child Winter Heating Assistance.

“Getting this money to families as early as possible in the winter months will help them budget and balance the many financial pressures that they face at this time of year.  For families of the most seriously disabled children and young people, who may need to heat their homes for longer periods, this can bring even more pressure in what is already a challenging circumstance.

“We are committed to making sure that people get everything they are entitled to. I would encourage families who think that they should have received this support and who haven’t had a letter yet to get in touch.”

Samantha Jones, from Helensburgh, who received the Child Winter Heating Assistance for her two children, Darren and Jacob, said: “I was very happy to see that Social Security Scotland were issuing these payments for children across Scotland.

“This will be a very helpful payment especially at this time of year for families like ours, this will really help and benefit our family and it’s very much appreciated.

“Having the extra money to help with heating costs is one less financial pressure that we have to think about on top of the cost of Christmas.”

Background

  • a client will qualify for Child Winter Heating Assistance if they live in Scotland and were in receipt of the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for children on at least one day between 21 September 2020 to 27 September 2020
  • if a child has had their Disability Living Allowance highest rate care component award backdated to the Child Winter Heating Assistance qualifying week of 21 September 2020 to 27 September 2020 they need to contact Social Security Scotland to get their £200.
  • if a family believes that they are eligible for this payment and they haven’t had a letter or a payment, they should contact Social Security Scotland from Tuesday 15 December by calling the Freephone helpline on 0800 182 2222 or through web chat at mygov.scot/contact-social-security-scotland/
  • this is the first form of disability assistance to be introduced by the Scottish Government using its new social security powers.
  • financial support provided through the Child Winter Heating Assistance is in addition to the £100 COVID Winter Hardship Payment which will be made for each child and young person in receipt of Free School Meals on the basis of low income. These payments will be made by local authorities automatically for those eligible.
  • further information on this payment can be found at COVID winter hardship payment (£100 per child) – mygov.scot
  • further support for anyone concerned about fuel bills is available from Home Energy Scotland.  Home Energy Scotland are funded by the Scottish Government to provide free and impartial advice to help people to reduce their bills and to make homes warm and cheaper to heat.  They can also make referrals for further financial support, including the Warm Home Discount Scheme.  Anyone concerned about their bills can contact Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or visit their website at homeenergyscotland.org

Child Winter Heating Assistance payments to start

Extra money for more than 14,000 disabled children

Families of disabled children will receive a new heating benefit  by Christmas.

The Child Winter Heating Assistance is a new £200 payment to help families of a child on the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for Children to heat their homes. There are more than 14,000 children expected to be eligible.

Payments will arrive with people from Friday 27 November and these are expected to be complete by Friday 11 December.

People do not need to apply for this payment. It will be made automatically by Social Security Scotland using information provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. Families will get a letter in advance to confirm that they will be getting this payment.

This is the first form of disability assistance to be introduced by the Scottish Government using its new social security powers.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People, Shirley Anne Somerville said: “As the nights draw in and the temperature starts to drop we will all be conscious of  the extra cost to heat our homes. For families of the most seriously disabled children and young people, who may need to heat their homes for longer periods, this can bring even more pressure in what is already a challenging circumstance.

“I am so pleased that we have been able to introduce this payment before Christmas, ensuring people will have this money ahead of the coldest of the winter months. I hope this helps these families plan their finances and that they can turn the heating on without as much worry about how they are going to afford it.

“I am delighted that despite the impact of COVID-19, we’ve been able to move forward with three new benefits this year – Job Start Payment, Scottish Child Payment and now Child Winter Heating Assistance. This is the first disability assistance that we will deliver using our new social security powers.

“We are continuing to work with delivery partners to review the timeline for introduction of our remaining benefits and we will do everything we can to start these as soon as we can practically and safely do so.”

Background

  • a client will qualify for Child Winter Heating Assistance if they live in Scotland and were in receipt of the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for children on at least one day between 21 September 2020 to 27 September 2020.
  • families will get letters in advance to confirm to expect this payment. Payments will be made in batches from Monday 23 November and arrive in people’s banks approximately four days later. It is expected to take two weeks to complete all payments. This payment will be made to the same account that they receive Disability Assistance Living Allowance for Children payments to.
  • families will get a payment for every child who receives the highest rate Disability Living Allowance for children. This is not a per household payment.
  • if a family believes that they are eligible for this payment and they haven’t had a letter or a payment, they should contact Social Security Scotland from Tuesday 8 December for further advice.
  • people can contact Social Security Scotland through web chat at mygov.scot/contact-social-security-scotland/ by calling the Freephone helpline on 0800 182 2222.
  • while the pandemic continues to have an impact on our operations and our delivery partners – including health and social care and the Department for Work and Pensions – we are doing what we can to progress policy, design and development work. We are still working through what the impacts of COVID-19 mean for our delivery timeline and holding conversations with partners to establish what we can introduce and when.