The Scottish Government has proposed changing the qualifying week for the Winter Heating Payment (WHP) from September to early November, according to a business and regulatory impact assessment published on 18 November 2022. The change is intended to shorten the gap between the week in which entitlement is assessed and the payment itself, which is due in February 20231.
WHP replaces the UK Government's Cold Weather Payments (CWP) in Scotland with a guaranteed £50 annual payment to around 400,000 low-income recipients, at an expected cost of around £20 million a year1. Eligibility rests on receiving Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income Support or support for Mortgage Interest on any one day during the qualifying week in November, with additional criteria applying1. No application is required in most cases1.
The assessment sets out the case for removing the weather trigger. Under CWP, a payment followed each cold weather event where the average temperature was recorded or forecast at zero degrees or below for seven consecutive days1. In 2021/22 there were six cold weather triggers from four of Scotland's 27 weather stations, paying out £325,000 in total, and only 11,000 people received at least one payment out of 394,000 eligible recipients1. In four of the nine winters between 2013/14 and 2021/22, low-income households received less than £1 million from CWP1.
"We now propose to change that to early November which will bring it closer to the payment date in February 2023."
The consultation on the payment, then named Low Income Winter Heating Assistance, ran from 1 December 2021 to 25 February 2022 and drew 119 responses1. Respondents generally agreed with removing weather dependence but wanted a higher payment; suggestions tended to range between £75 and £100, which the assessment says would raise forecast annual expenditure from £20 million to between £30 million and £40 million1. Concerns also included the length of time between the qualifying week and payment1.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Payment | £50 a year, guaranteed |
| Recipients | Around 400,000 |
| Expected annual cost | Around £20 million |
| Qualifying week | Proposed move from September to early November |
| First payments | February 2023 |
Why it matters for households
For a household on a qualifying benefit, the practical difference is certainty. Under CWP, support depended on the weather at one of a limited number of monitoring stations, so two similar homes could receive different amounts, or nothing, in the same winter1. A fixed £50 removes that dependence on temperature and makes the payment predictable, though at a lower headline value than the multiple payments some households received in a cold winter1.
The qualifying week matters because it fixes who is paid. A household whose benefit claim starts after that week does not qualify for that winter's payment, which is why consultation respondents raised the risk of people missing out1. Moving the week later, to early November, narrows the wait for the money but does not change the amount.
The assessment notes that 37 per cent of households receiving CWP were fuel poor, rising to 45 per cent if the weather criterion is removed1. That figure describes the wider pool of households the payment would reach, not the effect of the £50 itself on a bill.
What happens next
The regulations were to be laid in November 2022 and come into force in January 2023, with the first payments made in February 20231. The Scottish Government has not reported a final decision on the payment value or on the qualifying week in this assessment.