Pension Age Winter Heating Payment: Letter to Social Justice and Social Security Committee (SJSS)

Annex B

Scottish Government Response to SCoSS Scrutiny Report on Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) Regulations (2024)

Responses to Recommendations and Observations

SCoSS Recommendation

1. The Scottish Government should define in regulations what constitutes “free in-patient treatment”.

Scottish Government Response

Following engagement with SCoSS and further review of the regulations during the scrutiny process, Regulation 2 has been updated to include a definition of a ‘’free in-patient treatment’, reflecting the provision within the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

Accept

SCoSS Recommendation

2. In regulation 5(a) the Scottish Government should replace the words “in the qualifying week” with the words “throughout the qualifying week”.

Scottish Government Response

Following engagement with SCoSS and further review of the regulations during the scrutiny process, Regulation 5 (a) has been updated to clarify that an individual will not be entitled to Pension Age Winter Heating Payment if they are receiving free in-patient treatment throughout the qualifying week and the 52 weeks prior.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

Accept

SCoSS Recommendation

3. The Scottish Government should amend regulation 5(c)(iii) to add the words “in respect of the qualifying week” to ensure that getting benefit for an earlier period is ignored in deciding whether someone living in a care home is excluded from Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. Similar amendments should be made to regulations 9(2)(c)(ii) and 10(3)(b)(ii).

Scottish Government Response

This recommendation is no longer applicable as the benefit is now only payable to those in receipt of relevant benefits.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

N/A

SCoSS Recommendation

4. The Scottish Government should define in regulations what constitutes a “lead claimant” in terms that reflect how Pension Credit and other relevant benefits operate legally.

Scottish Government Response

Following engagement with SCoSS and further review of the regulations during the scrutiny process, the drafting has been changed to make it clearer that there will be one payment per household for joint claims.

Payment to the ‘lead claimant’ only reflects operationally how this policy will be delivered, based on the data available to Social Security Scotland, and ensures one payment is provided to a couple/household.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

Accept

SCoSS Recommendation

5. Following the launch of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland should monitor the numbers and characteristics of people who apply for the benefit and how the application process is working in practice. Data collected should inform work with stakeholder organisations to help people understand whether they can expect to be paid Pension Age Winter Heating Payment automatically, or need to apply.

Scottish Government Response

For winter 2024/2025, Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will be delivered by DWP under an agency agreement with Social Security Scotland. DWP have indicated that they do not intend to have a publicly available application but that queries to them in relation to an individual’s entitlement will result in a determination without application being made.

However, for benefits delivered by Social Security Scotland, the agency collects data on protected characteristics through equalities surveys, which clients complete alongside their application. This data is then used to monitor the characteristics of those applying for Social Security Scotland benefits, and to identify trends within application data. In future, under delivery by Social Security Scotland, an equalities survey will be in place as part of the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment application, in order to capture this information for data monitoring. The questions within this survey provide the option ‘Prefer not to say’ and therefore any information supplied is voluntary. Equalities information gathered from applications will be released as part of routine statistical publications.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

Accept

SCoSS Recommendation

6. The Scottish Government should align the periods of time in which requests for re-determinations for Scottish winter heating payments can be made.

Scottish Government Response

Deadlines for requesting a re-determination have been set for various reasons, including consultation with clients with lived experience of the UK benefits system and the complexity of gathering information relevant to an individual’s application.

To ensure that clients are aware of timescales for the relevant benefit, all re-determination deadlines are clearly communicated to clients when they receive their initial determination letter. It is also important to note that if a client misses the deadline to request a re-determination, Social Security Scotland will consider a late request for a re-determination within a year of the original determination if the client provides a reason for lateness.

While we are not currently considering aligning re-determination timescales for Winter Heating Benefits for winter 2024/25, we will continue to seek feedback on the re-determination process and will monitor whether differing timescales become a barrier to clients bringing a challenge.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

Reject

SCoSS Recommendation

7. The Scottish Government should ensure provision of suitable information materials to allow people to check whether they should have received an award of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, but did not.

Scottish Government Response

For winter 2024/2025, PAWHP will be delivered by DWP under agency agreement with Social Security Scotland.

However, we will continue to work closely with Social Security Scotland, ensuring all communication and engagement activity to support take-up of Scottish benefits including Pension Age Winter Heating Payment is inclusive, accessible and available across a range of online and offline channels.

This will include producing a range of materials including posters, factsheets and social media as well as adverts for local press and radio. Factsheets will be proactively translated into different community languages as well as British Sign Language and Easy Read. In addition, insight shows that older people expect to access information in places and services they are interacting with. Therefore, Social Security Scotland will work with stakeholders to make sure they have information they need to support older people via a series of stakeholder engagement events. Resources such as posters and factsheets will be shared with relevant stakeholders and community organisations, including GP surgeries and libraries, encouraging them to display information.

Information on eligibility and payment amounts will also be available online via MyGov.Scot. This will provide information on the range of ‘single’ and ‘shared payment’ rates.

By providing clear and accessible information across a range of offline and online channels, people can access information regarding eligibility for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

Accept

SCoSS Recommendation

8. The numbers opting out of receiving Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, and associated communications, processes and administration of opt-outs by Social Security Scotland, should be kept under review.

Scottish Government Response

Under the revised regulations there is no longer the option for clients to opt-out. However, an individual cannot be required to accept assistance, and everyone has the right under the 2018 Act to ask that a determination of entitlement is cancelled.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

No longer applicable

SCoSS Recommendation

9. When revising its equality impact assessment the Scottish Government should give consideration to the aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty and collect further relevant data to inform longer-term development of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

Scottish Government Response

The PAWHP Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) was drafted to consider the equalities impact of a like-for-like, universal replacement of Winter Fuel Payment with Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. These have since been updated to reflect the impact of our revised eligibility criteria. Our current EQIA has focused on the three aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty (to give due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, to advance equality, and to foster good relations) within the context of a like-for-like transfer. Given this focus on reflecting current WFP eligibility criteria to ensure that eligible pensioners receive a payment this winter, the current draft of the EQIA largely focused on the neutral impact of the introduction of PAWHP when compared with the support otherwise available through WFP.

Work is currently ongoing to consider the longer-term development of the benefit post-launch. As part of the statutory duty on public bodies to report on equalities progress under the Public Sector Equality Duty, outlined in the Equalities Act 2010, we will continue to consider the impacts of the current benefit and any future developments, on a broad range of groups, such as rural and island communities and those with protected characteristics. The three aims of the Public Sector Equality Duty will continue to inform our ongoing evaluation of the impact of the benefit.

Accept/Partially accept/Reject

Accept

SCoSS Recommendation

Observation 1: SCoSS recognises that there may be practical administrative barriers to changing the proposed qualifying week for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment this winter, and we believe that aiming to make payments in time for winter fuel bills is the right priority. However, after this winter, a solution should be sought to align qualifying weeks while not excluding people from help.

Scottish Government Response

During the course of development of each of the Winter Benefits consideration has been given to the timing of the Qualifying Week, and has been tested through public consultation and work with people with lived experience through our Social Security Experience Panels. The qualifying week for Child Winter Heating Payment and Pension Age Winter Heating Payment remain aligned, with the qualifying week beginning on the third Monday in September. For delivery of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment this is, importantly, aligned with the qualifying week for Winter Fuel Payments.

The qualifying week for Winter Heating Payment was initially proposed to align with the other Winter Benefits. However, feedback from the consultation and from the Experience Panel survey suggested the qualifying week should be as close to the timing of payment as possible, and therefore a decision was taken to move this forward to the week beginning with the first Monday in November. During the consultation on Winter Heating Payment (previously known as Low Income Winter Heating Assistance), we asked about the preferred timing of payments. The most common suggestion indicated a preference for payments to be made in December and January, and last winter (2023/24) we moved payments forward to align with this. Whilst it may be preferrable to have consistency across the qualifying weeks for all benefits, we believe the current qualifying weeks continue to be appropriate and meet the needs of those entitled.

SCoSS Recommendation

Observation 2: SCoSS notes that temporary circumstances such as a short period in legal custody can result in people being excluded from Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. As part of its plans for monitoring and research of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment the Scottish Government could consider the impact on people who are excluded from entitlement due to temporary circumstances.

Scottish Government Response

For delivery of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment we have committed to mirror the current eligibility criteria of Winter Fuel Payment, to ensure that eligible pensioners receive a payment in winter 2024/25 following the UK Government’s announcement to restrict Winter Fuel Payments to those in receipt of relevant benefits.

We will continue to consider the impact and any unintended consequences of the current policy alongside the longer term development of this benefit.