Winter Heating Payment – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

£30 million paid this year to help households with higher energy bills

Number of winter payments passes 400,000 mark 

 People in Scotland have received more than £30 million via two Scottish Government benefits to help them deal with increased energy costs this winter, new statistics have shown.  

Winter Heating Payment supports households on low incomes, including older people, disabled people and families with children under five.   

Child Winter Heating Payment helps families of the most severely disabled children and young people.    

The official figures show more than 400,000 Winter Heating Payments of £55.05 were issued between November last year and the end of March. More than 30,000 Child Winter Heating Payments of £235.70 were made in the same spell.   

Winter Heating Payment replaced the UK Government’s Cold Weather Payment in 2023. Most people getting it receive more money on average than via Cold Weather Payment.

People receive Winter Heating Payment whatever the weather, unlike Cold Weather Payment when the temperature needs to drop to a specific level. 

Child Winter Payment, introduced in 2020, is not available anywhere else in the UK. There is also no cap on the number of children who can get it in the same family. 

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said:   “The £30.2 million paid over the course of winter provides support to those who need it most. It is being paid quickly and effectively to help mitigate the worst of the cost of living crisis. 

“Winter Heating Payment guarantees those who qualify will get a payment every year – in contrast to the UK Government approach which needs the weather to be under a certain temperature for a sustained spell.   

“Both Winter Heating Payment and Child Winter Heating Payment have recently been increased in line with inflation which means we will be getting more money into people’s pockets in 2024/25. I am pleased that we are getting the vast majority of these payments to people in good time.  

“I urge anyone who is struggling during the cost-of-living crisis to visit the Scottish Government’s Cost of Living website for support and advice.”   

Winter Heating Payments begin

Social security support to help eligible people with heating costs

Money to help with heating costs is on its way to around 400,000 people on low incomes through the Scottish Government benefit Winter Heating Payment.

Winter Heating Payment is paid in batches to eligible clients, with the first payments paid this week. The majority of people will receive their payment by the end of January 2024.

This annual payment of £55.05 targets low-income households that have additional need for heat, including households with young children, disabled people and older people, providing stable, reliable support every winter.

Winter Heating Payment was first paid in winter 2022-2023 and replaces the DWP Cold Weather Payment. Unlike the DWP benefit that was reliant on the weather being sufficiently cold for a sustained period of time, Winter Heating Payment guarantees that everyone who is eligible will receive a payment every year, no matter the weather.

The majority of people eligible for Winter Heating Payment who were already getting qualifying benefits during the week of 6- 12 November will get it automatically, with no need to apply. It is paid through Social Security Scotland and people will get a letter to let them know they are eligible.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We are investing around £22 million this winter through Winter Heating Payments to support 400,000 people on low incomes across the country at a time when they are struggling with the cost of living crisis and higher energy bills.

“Winter Heating Payment guarantees that everyone eligible will get a payment every year, rather than the UK Government approach of requiring the weather being sufficiently cold for a sustained period of time.

“Our annual, reliable payment will support people on low incomes with the costs of heating their homes throughout the winter, we know it is harder for these households to spend more money to heat their homes.

“The vast majority of people will receive the payment automatically either this month or next.”

The UK Government’s Cold Weather Payments triggers a £25 payment only when the average of the mean daily temperature recorded for 7 consecutive days was equal to or below zero degrees. In contrast, the Scottish Government’s Winter Heating Payment provides reliable financial support through an automatic £55.05 payment, no matter the weather.

An individual may be eligible to receive Winter Heating Payment if they are in receipt of any of the following benefits: Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit and Support for Mortgage Interest.

As with the UK Government’s Cold Weather Payments, additional qualifying criteria for some of these benefits may also need to be satisfied, for example in relation to disability premiums paid to the client or if a disabled or young child is in their household.

MSP urges residents to shape delivery of winter heating payment

Gordon Macdonald, SNP MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands, has urged residents across the city to take part in the Scottish Government’s consultation on the introduction of the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

From winter 2024, the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, which will be an annual payment, will replace the UK government’s Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland.

The Scottish Government are consulting people across Edinburgh to understand who should be eligible for this payment, when and how it should be delivered, and what measures can be put in place to support those living off the gas grid. The consultation closes on January 15^th 2024.

Gordon Macdonald MSP is urging constituents across Edinburgh Pentlands to complete the consultation to ensure the payment is as effective as possible in helping pensioners with their winter heating costs.

Commenting, Gordon said: “The new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment delivered by the SNP Government will help over a million pensioners in Scotland with their heating costs, including thousands across Edinburgh.

“The SNP Government is committed to helping the most vulnerable through the difficult winter period – but it is vital people make their views known of how this payment can best be delivered.

“Since setting up a devolved social security system with compassion, fairness, and respect at its core – 13 benefits, of which 7 are unique to Scotland, have been established.

“Social Security Scotland is set to deliver £5.3 billion in devolved benefits in 2023-24 alone, supporting over 1.2 million peopleas the SNP continues to deliver every day for the people of Scotland.”

Consultation can be completed here: Pension Age Winter Heating Payment – Scottish Government consultations – Citizen Space

New annual Winter Heating Payment begins

£20m to help 400,000 Scots with heating costs

Help with heating costs is on its way to around 400,000 people on low incomes through a new Scottish Government benefit, with the first payments processed this week.

More than £20m will be paid out over the course of February and March in Winter Heating Payments.

Winter Heating Payment replaces the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Cold Weather Payment. Unlike the DWP benefit it replaces, Winter Heating Payment is not paid only to people when there is a sustained period of cold weather in a specific location, but is a reliable annual £50 payment.

Those eligible for Winter Heating Payment will receive it automatically, with no need to apply. It is paid through Social Security Scotland and people will get a letter to let them know they are eligible.

Minister for Social Security Scotland Ben Macpherson said: “Our new Winter Heating Payment is the thirteenth Scottish Government benefit. This year it will provide 400,000 people most in need with a reliable, automatic £50 payment to help towards their heating costs.

“The Payment will reach significantly more people than the benefit it has replaced. On average only 185,000 people received the equivalent Cold Weather Payments from the UK Government over the last seven years – whereas we will pay everyone eligible every year.

“The Scottish Government is investing around £20 million per year compared with an average of £8.3 million annually paid out through Cold Weather Payment. We will also uprate the next Winter Heating Payment by 10.1%, to £55.05.”

SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald welcomes £50 boost to around 27,500 households in Edinburgh

Edinburgh Pentlands MSP Gordon Macdonald has welcomed the news that around 27,500 households across Edinburgh will receive an automatic £50 from the Scottish Government’s new Winter Heating Payment in the coming few weeks regardless of the weather conditions.

The new payment replaces the Cold Weather Payment – a Westminster benefit administered by the DWP – that only paid out when the temperature in Edinburgh fell far enough for an extended period.

This meant many areas across Scotland missed out on any help at all from one year to the next because it was just not cold enough for long enough.

In contrast, the new £50 Scottish payment is guaranteed to be paid to every eligible household regardless of what the weather is like.

Earlier this week, the SNP Scottish Government received the data needed from the DWP to identify everyone in Scotland who is eligible. That data is now going through a quality assurance process to make sure all payments are paid safely and securely.

And the money will be delivered to eligible households later this month and next.

Commenting Mr Macdonald said: “This really is a massive improvement for around 27,500 hard-pressed households across Edinburgh.

“We have replaced the old Westminster payment – which only paid out when the temperature plunged for a sustained period – with a new Scottish payment that is reliable because it is guaranteed every year and does not depend on the temperature turning Baltic.

“It means those in need will get the much-needed extra cash this month or next without having to shiver away at home while hoping the weather stays cold long enough to trigger a payment.

“Last winter, no cold weather payments were made across whole swathes of the country. In total, only 11,000 people in the whole of the country received the cash from Westminster. This year, because of the SNP Scottish Government, around 27,500 households across Edinburgh alone will get an extra £50 to help with the Tory cost-of-living crisis.

“And the total amount paid out by Westminster also varied enormously from year to year. Between 2015 and 2022, an average of only £8.3million was given out in Scotland to an average of 185,000 households.

“The new Scottish benefit will see £20million put into the pockets of 415,000 households in the next few weeks.

“That means around 27,500 households in Edinburgh are guaranteed to receive £50 to help with their bills – regardless of how cold it is.”

27,500 Edinburgh households set to receive new winter heating payment

SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald has welcomed the announcement of a new Winter Heating Payment from the Scottish Government.

Around 27,500 households across the city are set to receive the new payment which replaces the old Cold Weather Payment from the UK government which relied on the temperature dropping to a certain level before payments were triggered.

The Scottish Government’s Winter Heating Payment will pay a flat-rate of £50 in February, no matter the temperature, to people on low-incomes who qualify.

Commenting, Gordon said: “The Winter Heating Payment will be the 13^th social security benefit set up by the Scottish Government and demonstrates what we can do with limited powers to build a fairer, more equal Scotland.

“It is a welcome step that the new payment will move away from the UK government’s system of issuing support when the temperature drops to a certain level. This will provide a reliable payment for households every winter.

“The new payment is another social security payment that is unique to Scotland and builds on support already available through game-changing benefits such as the Scottish Child Payment – the only payment of its kind in Britain.

“However, the Scottish Government continues to act with one hand tied behind its back. Only with the full powers of independence can we truly provide a system that works for the people of Scotland, not against them.”