Winter Fuel Payment consultation: FOI release
- Published
- 14 February 2025
- Directorate
- Social Security Directorate
- FOI reference
- FOI/202400440923
- Date received
- 14 November 2024
- Date responded
- 5 February 2025
Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
Information requested
The [Pension Age Winter Heating Payment] consultation that closed in 2024, please provide the following
1. The response ID and the text that has been redacted, including the question each portion of redacted text was associated with.
2. The exemption or exception used and public interest test for each piece of redacted text.
Response
I set out below a record of the information you have requested:
|
Response ID |
Question each portion of redacted text associated with |
Redacted Text |
Exemption / Exception / Public Interest Test Applied |
|
501496294 |
4. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to continue making payments to clients in November or December each year? |
“suffering from fibromyalgia” |
Personal information |
|
882359353 |
2. Do you agree or disagree that this approach is an effective way for the Scottish Government to provide financial support for older people? |
“while junkies alcoholics and the like get every benefit going” |
Inappropriate or offensive content that might be harmful to others |
|
427546668 |
2. Do you agree or disagree that this approach is an effective way for the Scottish Government to provide financial support for older people? |
“housing for immigrants...why not our British born citizens who are homeless” |
Inappropriate or offensive content that might be harmful to others |
|
251648144 |
6. Do you agree or disagree that our universal approach to identifying eligibility should be based on reaching state pension age? |
“much like a hooker” |
Inappropriate or offensive content that might be harmful to others |
|
204477557 |
9b. Do you agree or disagree that people in residential care who receive one of the income-related benefits listed should not receive PAWHP? |
“greedy” |
Inappropriate or offensive content that might be harmful to others |
|
268994652 |
3. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to name the replacement for Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland ‘Pension Age Winter Heating Payment’ (PAWHP)? |
“FFS” |
Inappropriate language |
|
268994652 |
20. Please set out any information you wish to share on the impact of PAWHP on reducing inequality of outcome caused by socio- economic disadvantage. |
“What the duck??? who the duck sits and thinks of these questions? The wording says so much about the people who work in it. Lets hope any new systems doesn’t hand extra money out to those who have not contributed to the system by not working or by coming here courtesy of ABC rubber boats Ltd. FFS how long is this questionairre, I’m old will i have time to complete it before departing this word?” |
Inappropriate or offensive content that might be harmful to others, including inappropriate language |
|
853994779 |
3. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to name the replacement for Winter Fuel Payment in Scotland ‘Pension Age Winter Heating Payment’ (PAWHP)? |
“BS” |
Inappropriate language |
|
780695637 |
4. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to continue making payments to clients in November or December each year? |
“in October 2024” |
Personal information |
|
780695637 |
6. Do you agree or disagree that our universal approach to identifying eligibility should be based on reaching state pension age? |
“I will turn 66 in October 2024.” |
Personal information |
|
780695637 |
7. Do you agree or disagree that the eligibility criteria for the PAWHP are clear? |
“I will miss out on a year despite turning 66 in Oct 24” |
Personal information |
|
586564710 |
11. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to pay PAWHP as an annual one-off payment each winter? |
“you will cock it up” |
Inappropriate language |
|
193957239 |
21. If there is anything else you would like to tell us about the described policy intention, impact assessments or PAWHP in general, please do so here. |
“I've forgot already PAWHP, what are you on about. Sounds like a puppy (pup) to anyone with reducing cognitive skills.” |
Inappropriate or offensive content that might be harmful to others |
|
632614919 |
20. Please set out any information you wish to share on the impact of PAWHP on reducing inequality of outcome caused by socio- economic disadvantage. |
“crap” |
Inappropriate language |
|
489273994 |
1. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to replace Winter Fuel Payment with a ‘like-for-like' replacement? |
“I turned 66 in October this year” |
Personal information |
|
172950203 |
14. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal that clients have 31 days to request a re- determination? |
“Won't even look as I was born Oct 57” |
Personal information |
|
168515496 |
1. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to replace Winter Fuel Payment with a ‘like-for-like' replacement? |
“I recently just got my State pension from [redacted text] my date off birth [redacted text] i misz out this years payment by 11 Days so have too strugle with my winter Bills was Really Dissapointed that i dint qualify for this payment this year as i an Severly disabled and need my heating on and not sure if the bar will get raised fir next year” |
Personal information Please note, additional personal identifiable data in respect of the respondent remains withheld in line with exemption 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA. |
|
168515496 |
13. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to continue having the ‘qualifying week’ in September to identify eligible clients? |
“This happened too me this year as my date off birth is [redacted text] so” |
Personal information Please note, additional personal identifiable data in respect of the respondent remains withheld in line with exemption 38(1)(b) (personal information) of FOISA. |
|
788853901 |
6. Do you agree or disagree that our universal approach to identifying eligibility should be based on reaching state pension age? |
“to others like myself who was born in December 1957.so I don't receive this help.” |
Personal information |
|
788853901 |
13. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to continue having the ‘qualifying week’ in September to identify eligible clients? |
So myself being born in December 1957 means” |
Personal information |
|
831699121 |
5. How could we improve delivery for households in remote rural and island communities that are not on the gas grid? |
“as it’s not possible to achieve anything without depopulation ie we are the carbon kleptocratic world economic forum elite paedophile klaus Schwab & Bill gates wants rid of” |
Inappropriate or offensive content that might be harmful to others |
Regarding your request for ‘the exemption or exception used and public interest tests for each piece of redacted text’, we would flag that those provided in the table above as part of this response are in line with local procedures for moderation of consultation responses and are not made under FOI legislation with regards to exemptions and relevant public interest tests.
An exemption applied under Section 38(1)(b) - Personal Information
While our aim is to provide information wherever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exemption applies under Section 38(1)(b) of FOISA (personal information). Disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exemption is not subject to the ‘public interest test’ so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. This exemption has been applied in respect of the following responses and consultation questions:
|
Response ID |
Question each portion of redacted text associated with |
|
570418926 |
6. Do you agree or disagree that our universal approach to identifying eligibility should be based on reaching state pension age? |
|
645656045 |
13. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to continue having the ‘qualifying week’ in September to identify eligible clients? |
|
882505471 |
1. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to replace Winter Fuel Payment with a ‘like-for-like' replacement? |
|
168515496 |
1. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to replace Winter Fuel Payment with a ‘like-for-like' replacement? |
|
168515496 |
13. Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to continue having the ‘qualifying week’ in September to identify eligible clients? |
About FOI
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Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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