Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2022-2026 - annex 5: impact of policies on child poverty

Child Winter Heating Assistance

To provide support with the cost of domestic heating during the winter months for severely disabled children.

• Income from social security and benefits in kind

Enhanced life chances (e.g. health, wellbeing, capabilities, longer term goals)

Potential size of impact

The Scottish Fiscal Commission estimates that there will be 19,000 children and young people eligible for Child Winter Heating Assistance in 2021/22, receiving an annual payment of £202, with total payments of £3.8m. This will be uprated by 5% in 2022/23.

Type of impact

The payment intends to help mitigate the additional heating costs that the households of the most severely disabled children and young people face in the winter months. However, the payment does not have to be spent directly on heating costs.

Certainty of impact

The CWHA is not means tested and there are no associated targets, however, we know that households with a disabled adult or disabled child, or both, have a higher proportion of children who live in relative poverty.

Priority families targeted by policy:

• Disabled

Children and young people in receipt of the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance or Child Disability Payment or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment receive an automated payment. Existing data on disability are not comprehensive enough to allow us to produce robust estimates of the number of people who would be eligible but do not apply for a qualifying benefit.

Tracking progress

Social Security Scotland will publish annual statistics on the delivery of CWHA, covering the number of eligible children and young people, as well as data on client feedback and diversity and equalities analysis. Delivery will be subject to formal evaluation as part of the Devolution of Disability Benefits: Evaluation Strategy.