400,000 households will get extra £50 from February 2023 - are you eligible for support?
People on certain benefits will receive the one-off £50 payment from February next year, to help people on low incomes pay for their energy bills.
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The Winter Heating Payment is replacing the Cold Weather Payment in Scotland. The Scottish Government website says the payment will go out to around 400,000 households.
Eligible people will receive a letter from Social Security Scotland before the payment arrives, outlining how the process will work.
The money should arrive automatically in people’s bank and building society accounts, with no need to fill in any paperwork to get the money.
The one-off payment is different from the Cold Weather Payment, a £25 payment which goes out to people in areas if and when temperatures fall below zero, or are forecast to be below zero, for seven consecutive days.
The scheme runs from November to March, with payments triggered in many postcodes in recent weeks.
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To receive the Winter Heating Payment in Scotland, a person must have received one of these benefits during the qualifying week, from November 7 to 13:
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Income Support
- Income based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Income Related Employment Support Allowance
- Support for Mortgage Interest.
Other criteria also need to be met for a person to receive the £50 payment. A person on Universal Credit who is not employed or self-employed will get the payment, if they have any of:
- A limited capability for work element
- A limited capability for work element with a work-related activity element
- A child or young person disability element
- A child under five living with them.
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A claimant will usually get the payment if they are employed or self-employed, and they have a child or young person disability element.
Those on income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Income Support will usually get the payment if they meet one of these criteria:
- A disability premium
- A severe disability premium
- A pensioner premium
- The disability element of Child Tax Credit
- A child under five living with them.
A person will also be eligible for the payment if they get a child disability premium within Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance.
People will usually get the payment if they get income-related Employment Support Allowance and have any of these:
- Placed in a support group or a work-related activity group
- A severe or enhanced disability premium
- A pensioner premium
- The disability element of Child Tax Credit
- A child under five living with them.
Claimants of Support for Mortgage Interest will usually get the payment if they have any of the following:
- A disability premium
- A pensioner premium
- A child disability premium
- A child under five living with them.