The Scottish Government published an equality impact assessment (EQIA) for the Winter Heating Assistance (Low Income) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 on 18 November 2022, setting out how the new £50 Winter Heating Payment (WHP) will work when it replaces Cold Weather Payments (CWP)1. The first payments are due in February 20231.
The payment will support around 400,000 people each winter at £50 each, an investment of approximately £20 million per year1. It is aimed at people on a low income who are also of pension age, a disabled adult, or a family responsible for a child under five or a disabled child1. The Scottish Government states that the payment is automatic and usually requires no application form1.
"The Scottish Government have committed to replacing Cold Weather Payments (CWP), delivered by DWP, with a new £50 Winter Heating Payment (WHP)"
The EQIA sets out the case for removing the link to temperature. Under CWP, a payment was triggered for each cold weather event where the temperature was recorded or forecast below zero degrees for seven consecutive days1. In 2021/22 there were six cold weather triggers from four of the 27 weather stations in Scotland, with £325,000 paid out and only 11,000 people receiving at least one payment out of 394,000 eligible recipients1. Annual CWP expenditure in Scotland ranged from £0.2 million in 2019-20 to £23.0 million in 2020/21, averaging £7.5 million over the period1.
| Cold Weather Payment year | Scotland (£million) | Great Britain (£million) |
|---|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 0.9 | 8.4 |
| 2014-15 | 7.3 | 11.0 |
| 2015-16 | 3.4 | 3.8 |
| 2016-17 | 0.7 | 3.2 |
| 2017-18 | 21.5 | 114.3 |
| 2018-19 | 10.2 | 27.0 |
| 2019-20 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 2020/21 | 23.0 | 98.7 |
| 2021/22 (estimates) | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Average | 7.5 | 29.7 |
Source: Scottish Government EQIA1
The EQIA records that consultation respondents raised concerns about the value of the payment, with suggestions ranging from £75 to £100, which the government says would raise annual expenditure to between £30 million and £40 million and would not be affordable1. Respondents also raised the potential for people in historically colder areas to receive less support, the use of a qualifying week, and the time between assessing entitlement and making a payment1. The government now considers the optimal date for the qualifying week to be the week beginning on the first Monday in November1.
Payments can be made into a UK bank account, a building society account, someone else's account that the recipient can access, or through i-Movo, a secure digital voucher system delivered by SMS or email and redeemable at one of 2,850 PayPoint outlets in Scotland1. Information is available in BSL, Farsi, Mandarin, Cantonese, Urdu, Gaelic, Polish, Arabic, Ukrainian, braille and easy read formats1. The EQIA states that exclusions have been removed so that people in alternative accommodation such as a private hospital, care home or an Abbeyfield Society establishment during the qualifying week continue to receive the payment1.
Why it matters for households
The Winter Heating Payment in Scotland is fixed at £50 a winter regardless of temperature, replacing a system where payment depended on sustained cold weather. Under CWP, entitlement varied sharply by year and location: in 2021/22 only 11,000 of 394,000 eligible people received anything1. A flat annual payment gives eligible households a known sum, though at £50 it is lower than the £75 to £100 some consultation respondents suggested1. Because it is paid automatically to those on qualifying benefits, it does not depend on an application, which the EQIA says should avoid additional barriers to access1. For households weighing up how they heat their home, the payment is a fixed contribution towards winter bills rather than a response to how cold the season turns out to be.
What happens next
First payments are due in February 20231. The Scottish Government says it has committed to exploring the feasibility of moving the February payment date forward following delivery of WHP, and retains in the underpinning legislation the ability to legislate for additional payments should the need arise and funding be made available1.