Families, pensioners and disabled people due up to £305 in one-off payments this year
More than half a million children and families in Scotland received cash help for heating bills last year.
Last winter over half a million children and families across Scotland enjoyed warmer homes after receiving a total of £37.3 million towards their heating bills from Social Security Scotland. Winter Heating Payment (£59.75), Child Winter Heating Payment (£255.80) and Pension Age Winter Heating Payments (between £100 and £305) will be issued again this year to eligible households to help with higher costs over the colder months.
The Scottish Government announced earlier this year that all pensioners north of the border will receive at least £100 through the new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. Older people in receipt of Pension Credit (or another qualifying means-tested benefit) aged between 66 and 79 will receive £203.40 while those aged 80 and over on a qualifying benefit will get £305.10.
Pension Age Winter Heating Payments will land in bank accounts on St Andrew's Day, November 30. It's unclear if the UK Government's U-turn on Winter Fuel Payments will mean more funding for the Scottish Government.
Earlier this week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced more than 9 million pensioners in England and Wales will receive Winter Fuel Payments of either £200 or £300.
This will be an automatic payment issued to those born before September 22, 1959 with an annual income of less than £35,000. Nobody needs to claim the payment or be in receipt of Pension Credit.
A total of 465,510 Winter Heating Payments, worth £27.3m, were made for 2024/2025, along with 39,590 Child Winter Heating Payments, worth £10m.
Winter Heating Payment is paid automatically to people who get certain low-income benefits, including households with young children, disabled people or older people. It has replaced the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) Cold Weather Payment in Scotland.
It is a guaranteed payment that everyone who is eligible receives, no matter what the weather - Cold Weather Payment is only paid if the average temperature falls - or is forecast to fall - to freezing or below for a full week.
Child Winter Heating Payment was introduced by the Scottish Government in November 2020 and is only available in Scotland. It is paid once a year to children and young people if they are under 19-years-old and get certain benefits.
The figures, taken from statistics released on April 29 also show that 95 per cent of Winter Heating Payments were made by December 2024 and 93 per cent of Child Winter Heating Payments were made by October 2024.
Benefits and payments only available in Scotland
Below is everything you need to know about devolved benefits and payments with direct links to the dedicated pages on the Social Security Scotland website here.
Winter Heating Payment - £59.75 annual payment
This annual payment replaced the Cold Weather Payment delivered by DWP in 2023 and will be worth £59.75 during winter 2025/26. It is designed to help people on a low income or benefits who might have extra heating needs during the winter - find out more here.
Child Winter Heating Payment - £255.80 annual payment
This is an annual payment to help families of youngsters up to the age of 19 on the highest rate care component of disability benefits and will be worth £255.80 in winter 2025/26. This payment provides support for people on Disability Living Allowance for Children, Child or Adult Disability Payment and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - find out more here.
Just remember, Adult Disability Payment will fully replace PIP by Spring this year so it's included here as there are still people in receipt of the DWP benefits and intended as information only.
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment - between £100 and £305.10 annual payment
Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will help people of State Pension age in receipt of means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit with higher energy bills during the colder months. It replaces Winter Fuel payments and for winter 2025/26, all pensioners in Scotland will receive a minimum of £100 - find out more here.
People aged between 66 and 79 on a qualifying benefit will receive £203. 40 (lower rate)
People aged 80 and over on a qualifying benefit will receive £305.10 (higher rate)
Scottish Child Payment - £27.15 weekly payment
This is a payment of £27.15 per week, per child - £108.60 every four weeks - to help towards the costs of looking after each child under 16 for families who get certain benefits - find out more here.
Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment (first child) - £767.50
This is a one-off payment of up to £767.50 from 24 weeks in pregnancy up until a baby turns six months for families who get certain benefits - find out more here.
Best Start Grant - Pregnancy and Baby Payment - £383.75
The Subsequent Child Payment and Multiple Pregnancy Supplement payment will be worth £383.75 in 2025.26 - find out more here.
Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment - £319.80
This is a one-off payment of £319.80 when a child is between two and three years and six months for families who get certain benefits - find out more here.
Best Start Grant School Age Payment - £319.80
This is a one-off payment of £319.80 when a child would normally start primary one for families who get certain benefits - find out more here.
Best Start Foods
This is a pre-paid card from pregnancy up to when a child turns three for families on certain benefits to help buy healthy food - find out more here.
The 2025/26 weekly payment rates are:
Higher rate - £10.80
Lower rate - £5.40
Funeral Support Payment
This is money towards the costs of a funeral at a difficult time like this for people on certain benefits who are responsible for paying for a funeral. The current average payout is £1,800 - find out more here.
Payment rates:
Standard rate: £1,279.15
Lower rate: £156.10
Medical device removal rate: £25.80
Job Start Payment
This is a one-off payment for 16 to 24 year olds who have been on certain benefits for six months or more to help with the costs of starting a job - find out more here.
Payment rates:
Higher rate: £511.65
Standard rate: £319.80
Child Disability Payment - up to £749 every four weeks
This is extra money - up to the value of £749 every four weeks in 2025/26 - to help with the costs of caring for a child with a disability or ill-health condition. It replaces Disability Living Allowance for children in Scotland that was previously delivered by the DWP - find out more here.
The weekly payment rates
Daily living
Lower care award: £29.20
Standard: £73.90
Enhanced: £110.40
Mobility
Standard: £29.20
Enhanced: £77.05
Adult Disability Payment - up to £749 every four weeks
This is extra money - worth between £116.80 and £749.80 every four weeks - to help people who have a long-term illness or a disability that affects their everyday life. It replaces Personal Independence Payment people in Scotland previously delivered by the DWP - find out more here.
Weekly payment rates
Daily living
Standard: £73.90
Enhanced: £110.40
Mobility
Standard: £29.20
Enhanced: £77.05
Pension Age Disability Payment - up to £441 every four weeks
Pension Age Disability Payment will fully replace Attendance Allowance for existing claimants by the end of 2025.
People living in Scotland will receive either £73.90 or £110.40 each week - the same rate as Attendance Allowance. it will be paid every four weeks - £295.60, or £441.60 per pay period.
Pension Age Disability Payment will support older people who have a disability that means they need assistance with looking after themselves, or supervision to keep them safe. Find out more about the new payment here.
Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance - up to £749 every four weeks
This is a closed benefit, which means nobody can apply for it and is only for pensioners on Disability Living Allowance transferring from the DWP - find out more here.
Weekly payment rates
Daily living
Lower care award: £29.20
Standard: £73.90
Enhanced: £110.40
Mobility
Standard: £29.20
Enhanced: £77.05
Young Carer Grant - £390.25 annual payment
This is an annual payment of £390.25 for people 16, 17 or 18 who care for people who get a disability benefit from the DWP for an average of 16 hours a week or more - find out more here.
Carer's Allowance Supplement - £293.50 paid twice a year
This is an automatic payment of £293.50 made twice a year to people who get Carer's Allowance through the DWP on certain dates each year.
The first payment of 2025 will be made over June 18 and 19 and the next in December - find out more here.
Carer Support Payment - £83.30 weekly payment
Carer Support Payment is replacing Carer's Allowance for new and existing claimants in Scotland and is worth £83.30 each week, some £333.20 every four week pay period. Full details about the new benefit can be found here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
21 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Warning as England faces 5bn litre a day water shortage without urgent action
Pressures on the public water supply include the climate crisis, population increases and emerging technologies, as well as the need to generate energy and to grow food England's public water supply could be short by five billion litres a day by 2055 without urgent action to future-proof resources, the Environment Agency has warned. Climate change, population growth, and environmental pressures are impacting supplies with the predicted shortfall equivalent to a third of our current daily use – or the volume of 4 and a half Wembley Stadiums. A further one billion litres a day will also be needed to generate energy, grow our food, and power emerging technologies, the Environment Agency also warned. The highly populated south east region of England faces the biggest shortfall, with an estimated extra two billion litres of water a day needed between 2030 and 2055. READ MORE: Three UK water companies begin drought plans after England's driest spring in 70 years Some 60% of the shortfall needs to come from water companies managing demand for water from households and businesses, and halving the amount of water lost to leaks. The rest would come from boosting supplies, such as building new reservoirs, desalination plants which turn seawater into drinking water, and schemes that can transfer water from wetter parts of the country to drier areas. The warning comes in the Environment Agency's national framework for water resources, published every five years and setting out the actions needed by utilities, regulators and businesses and the public to manage under-pressure resources. It details as the population of England is set to increase by eight million by 2055, increasing demand for water for everything from washing and appliances to leisure activities on golf courses and sports pitches. Climate change is likely to reduce the amount of available water, with hotter, drier summers limiting resources and increasing demand from households, while at the same time the amount taken from rivers and groundwater will need to be reduced to protect wildlife and the environment. The warning comes in the wake of England's hottest spring on record, and the country's driest for more than 100 years, with the North West and Yorkshire in drought, some reservoirs at extremely low levels, farmers struggling to grow crops and households facing the prospect of hosepipe bans. The Environment Agency warned it was "vital" water companies delivered on their commitments to reduce leakage by 17% in the next five years and by 50% by 2050. The environmental regulator said smart meters for water would be key to helping households conserve water, and it would continue to work with Government on a mandatory efficiency labelling scheme for appliances such as dishwashers, toilets and showers. The EA also said there were small steps the public can take, such as shortening showers, turning off taps when brushing teeth, using full loads for dishwashers and washing machines, collecting water for garden use and deleting old emails to reduce pressure on data centre servers. Emerging industries such as data centres and hydrogen production, which use large amounts of water for cooling systems, need to look at more options for using recycled water rather than public water supplies to meet their needs, the EA said. Environment Agency chairman Alan Lovell said: "The nation's water resources are under huge and steadily increasing pressure. This deficit threatens not only the water from your tap but also economic growth and food production. "Taking water unsustainably from the environment will have a disastrous impact on our rivers and wildlife. We need to tackle these challenges head on and strengthen work on co-ordinated action to preserve this precious resource and our current way of life." The Government says it has secured £104 billion in private sector spending in water company infrastructure over the next five years, including £8 billion committed to boost water supply and manage demand, and is stepping in to speed up the construction of a series of major reservoirs. But consumers have reacted angrily to rising bills in the face of polluted rivers, lakes and seas, shareholder payouts and executive bonuses.
Daily Record
5 days ago
- Daily Record
Families, pensioners and disabled people due up to £305 in one-off payments this year
More than half a million children and families in Scotland received cash help for heating bills last year. Last winter over half a million children and families across Scotland enjoyed warmer homes after receiving a total of £37.3 million towards their heating bills from Social Security Scotland. Winter Heating Payment (£59.75), Child Winter Heating Payment (£255.80) and Pension Age Winter Heating Payments (between £100 and £305) will be issued again this year to eligible households to help with higher costs over the colder months. The Scottish Government announced earlier this year that all pensioners north of the border will receive at least £100 through the new Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. Older people in receipt of Pension Credit (or another qualifying means-tested benefit) aged between 66 and 79 will receive £203.40 while those aged 80 and over on a qualifying benefit will get £305.10. Pension Age Winter Heating Payments will land in bank accounts on St Andrew's Day, November 30. It's unclear if the UK Government's U-turn on Winter Fuel Payments will mean more funding for the Scottish Government. Earlier this week, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced more than 9 million pensioners in England and Wales will receive Winter Fuel Payments of either £200 or £300. This will be an automatic payment issued to those born before September 22, 1959 with an annual income of less than £35,000. Nobody needs to claim the payment or be in receipt of Pension Credit. A total of 465,510 Winter Heating Payments, worth £27.3m, were made for 2024/2025, along with 39,590 Child Winter Heating Payments, worth £10m. Winter Heating Payment is paid automatically to people who get certain low-income benefits, including households with young children, disabled people or older people. It has replaced the Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) Cold Weather Payment in Scotland. It is a guaranteed payment that everyone who is eligible receives, no matter what the weather - Cold Weather Payment is only paid if the average temperature falls - or is forecast to fall - to freezing or below for a full week. Child Winter Heating Payment was introduced by the Scottish Government in November 2020 and is only available in Scotland. It is paid once a year to children and young people if they are under 19-years-old and get certain benefits. The figures, taken from statistics released on April 29 also show that 95 per cent of Winter Heating Payments were made by December 2024 and 93 per cent of Child Winter Heating Payments were made by October 2024. Benefits and payments only available in Scotland Below is everything you need to know about devolved benefits and payments with direct links to the dedicated pages on the Social Security Scotland website here. Winter Heating Payment - £59.75 annual payment This annual payment replaced the Cold Weather Payment delivered by DWP in 2023 and will be worth £59.75 during winter 2025/26. It is designed to help people on a low income or benefits who might have extra heating needs during the winter - find out more here. Child Winter Heating Payment - £255.80 annual payment This is an annual payment to help families of youngsters up to the age of 19 on the highest rate care component of disability benefits and will be worth £255.80 in winter 2025/26. This payment provides support for people on Disability Living Allowance for Children, Child or Adult Disability Payment and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) - find out more here. Just remember, Adult Disability Payment will fully replace PIP by Spring this year so it's included here as there are still people in receipt of the DWP benefits and intended as information only. Pension Age Winter Heating Payment - between £100 and £305.10 annual payment Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will help people of State Pension age in receipt of means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit with higher energy bills during the colder months. It replaces Winter Fuel payments and for winter 2025/26, all pensioners in Scotland will receive a minimum of £100 - find out more here. People aged between 66 and 79 on a qualifying benefit will receive £203. 40 (lower rate) People aged 80 and over on a qualifying benefit will receive £305.10 (higher rate) Scottish Child Payment - £27.15 weekly payment This is a payment of £27.15 per week, per child - £108.60 every four weeks - to help towards the costs of looking after each child under 16 for families who get certain benefits - find out more here. Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment (first child) - £767.50 This is a one-off payment of up to £767.50 from 24 weeks in pregnancy up until a baby turns six months for families who get certain benefits - find out more here. Best Start Grant - Pregnancy and Baby Payment - £383.75 The Subsequent Child Payment and Multiple Pregnancy Supplement payment will be worth £383.75 in 2025.26 - find out more here. Best Start Grant Early Learning Payment - £319.80 This is a one-off payment of £319.80 when a child is between two and three years and six months for families who get certain benefits - find out more here. Best Start Grant School Age Payment - £319.80 This is a one-off payment of £319.80 when a child would normally start primary one for families who get certain benefits - find out more here. Best Start Foods This is a pre-paid card from pregnancy up to when a child turns three for families on certain benefits to help buy healthy food - find out more here. The 2025/26 weekly payment rates are: Higher rate - £10.80 Lower rate - £5.40 Funeral Support Payment This is money towards the costs of a funeral at a difficult time like this for people on certain benefits who are responsible for paying for a funeral. The current average payout is £1,800 - find out more here. Payment rates: Standard rate: £1,279.15 Lower rate: £156.10 Medical device removal rate: £25.80 Job Start Payment This is a one-off payment for 16 to 24 year olds who have been on certain benefits for six months or more to help with the costs of starting a job - find out more here. Payment rates: Higher rate: £511.65 Standard rate: £319.80 Child Disability Payment - up to £749 every four weeks This is extra money - up to the value of £749 every four weeks in 2025/26 - to help with the costs of caring for a child with a disability or ill-health condition. It replaces Disability Living Allowance for children in Scotland that was previously delivered by the DWP - find out more here. The weekly payment rates Daily living Lower care award: £29.20 Standard: £73.90 Enhanced: £110.40 Mobility Standard: £29.20 Enhanced: £77.05 Adult Disability Payment - up to £749 every four weeks This is extra money - worth between £116.80 and £749.80 every four weeks - to help people who have a long-term illness or a disability that affects their everyday life. It replaces Personal Independence Payment people in Scotland previously delivered by the DWP - find out more here. Weekly payment rates Daily living Standard: £73.90 Enhanced: £110.40 Mobility Standard: £29.20 Enhanced: £77.05 Pension Age Disability Payment - up to £441 every four weeks Pension Age Disability Payment will fully replace Attendance Allowance for existing claimants by the end of 2025. People living in Scotland will receive either £73.90 or £110.40 each week - the same rate as Attendance Allowance. it will be paid every four weeks - £295.60, or £441.60 per pay period. Pension Age Disability Payment will support older people who have a disability that means they need assistance with looking after themselves, or supervision to keep them safe. Find out more about the new payment here. Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance - up to £749 every four weeks This is a closed benefit, which means nobody can apply for it and is only for pensioners on Disability Living Allowance transferring from the DWP - find out more here. Weekly payment rates Daily living Lower care award: £29.20 Standard: £73.90 Enhanced: £110.40 Mobility Standard: £29.20 Enhanced: £77.05 Young Carer Grant - £390.25 annual payment This is an annual payment of £390.25 for people 16, 17 or 18 who care for people who get a disability benefit from the DWP for an average of 16 hours a week or more - find out more here. Carer's Allowance Supplement - £293.50 paid twice a year This is an automatic payment of £293.50 made twice a year to people who get Carer's Allowance through the DWP on certain dates each year. The first payment of 2025 will be made over June 18 and 19 and the next in December - find out more here. Carer Support Payment - £83.30 weekly payment Carer Support Payment is replacing Carer's Allowance for new and existing claimants in Scotland and is worth £83.30 each week, some £333.20 every four week pay period. Full details about the new benefit can be found here.
The Independent
04-06-2025
- The Independent
Summer forest-fire warning for holiday hotspot
A pre-alert warning has been issued for the Canary Islands due to the increased risk of forest fires during the summer. The islands on pre-alert include El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria, with measures in place until further notice. The Canary Islands' Mediterranean climate and winds from the Sahara desert contribute to a medium to high risk of forest fires. More than 2,000 firefighters are on standby to tackle any fires in the western islands and Gran Canaria. In 2023, Tenerife experienced its worst wildfires in 40 years, leading to the evacuation of over 12,000 people; the government urges precautions to prevent fires, such as avoiding throwing cigarette butts and fireworks near forests.
