Over 32,000 South Lanarkshire kids and families get slice of £2.4m for heating bills
Last winter over 32,140 children and families across South Lanarkshire enjoyed warmer homes after receiving a total of £2,445,500 towards their heating bills from Social Security Scotland.
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.
A total of 29,250 Winter Heating Payments, worth £1,718,500 were made for 2024/2025, along with 2890 Child Winter Heating Payments, worth £727,000.
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.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: 'We have issued over 505,100 payments to families on low incomes, and those supporting children or young people with a disability, to help with the cost of heating their homes.
'Many people are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis and higher energy bills. The importance of these payments was brought home to everyone this month with the Energy Price Cap rising by 6.4 per cent. Ofgem estimates that this will add £9.25 a month to the typical household's energy bill.
'This year we will also be providing extra support to pensioners. While the DWP's Winter Fuel Payment will only be available to some pensioners, Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will provide money to every pensioner household in the country. The Scottish Government will continue to protect pensioners and people on low incomes in Scotland.'
Winter Heating Payment is paid automatically to people who were getting any of these benefits during the qualifying week: Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance and Support for Mortgage Interest.
Some restrictions apply for some of these benefits. For example, for those qualifying through Income Support may also have to have a child under five, a disability premium or a pensioner premium.
Children and young people in Scotland can get Child Winter Heating Payment if they are under 19 years old and get one of the following qualifying benefits:
Highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment, highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance for children, enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment and enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.
They must be getting this on at least one day in the week starting with the third Monday of September (called the 'qualifying week'). In 2024, this was Monday to Sunday, September 16 to 22.
The qualifying week for Winter Heating Payment was Monday to Sunday, November 4 to 10.
A universal Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will be introduced in winter 2025/2026 for all pensioner households in Scotland. This universal payment will provide much-needed support not available anywhere else in the UK and will support older people across Scotland.
From winter 2025/26, pensioners in Scotland in receipt of a relevant qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, and who will receive payments of £200 or £300 this winter, depending on their age, will continue to receive those payments automatically.
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