The first payments of the Winter Heating Payment (WHP) will be made in February 2023, according to the Scottish Government's equality impact assessment of the Winter Heating Assistance (Low Income) (Scotland) Regulations 2023, published on 18 November 20221. The payment replaces the Cold Weather Payment (CWP) delivered by the Department for Work and Pensions, and is set at £50 a winter1.
The Scottish Government states the payment will support around 400,000 people each winter, at an investment of approximately £20 million per year1. It is paid automatically and usually requires no application form1. Eligibility is targeted at people on a low income who are also of pension age, a disabled adult, or a family responsible for a child under the age of 5 or a disabled child1.
"The Scottish Government have committed to replacing Cold Weather Payments (CWP), delivered by DWP, with a new £50 Winter Heating Payment (WHP)"
The document sets out the difference from the scheme it replaces. Under the CWP, a payment was triggered by each cold weather event where the temperature recorded or forecast was below zero degrees for seven days in a row1. 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 received at least one payment out of 394,000 eligible recipients1. In four of the nine years between winter 2013/14 and 2021/22, low income households in Scotland received less than £1 million from Cold Weather Payments1.
Cold Weather Payment annual expenditure in Scotland, £million1:
| Year | Scotland |
|---|---|
| 2013-14 | 0.9 |
| 2014-15 | 7.3 |
| 2015-16 | 3.4 |
| 2016-17 | 0.7 |
| 2017-18 | 21.5 |
| 2018-19 | 10.2 |
| 2019-20 | 0.2 |
| 2020/21 | 23.0 |
| 2021/22 (estimates) | 0.3 |
| Average | 7.5 |
The assessment states that the qualifying week is now expected 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 claimant 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. Exclusions have been removed so that people in alternative accommodation, such as a private hospital, care home or an establishment run by the Abbeyfield Society or an affiliated body, 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, so a household that qualifies knows what it will receive rather than depending on how cold the weather turns out to be1. The assessment records that the old link to seven consecutive days of low temperature left people feeling unable to heat their homes even in very cold weather, and that removing it provides certainty for low income households1. For a home's energy independence, the practical effect is a predictable sum arriving once a winter rather than a payment that may never be triggered: in 2021/22, 11,000 people received at least one Cold Weather Payment out of 394,000 eligible recipients1. The payment is separate from the Winter Fuel Payment, and the assessment does not set out how the two interact for a household receiving both. The document also notes that the Scottish Government retains in the underpinning legislation the ability to legislate for additional payments should the need arise and funding be made available1.
What happens next
The assessment states that the Scottish Government has committed to exploring the feasibility of moving the February payment date forward following the delivery of WHP1. No date for that change has been reported.