Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP): draft regulations 2024

Part 1 - Introductory and interpretation

Citation and commencement

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 and they come into force on the day after the day on which they are made.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the 2018 Act” means the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018,

“care home” means an establishment which provides a care home service as defined in paragraph 2 of schedule 12 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010(^[b]),

“couple” means two people who are—

(a) married to, or civil partners of, each other and are members of the same household, or

(b) not married to, or civil partners of, each other but are living together as if they were a married couple or civil partners,

“determination” means a determination of entitlement within the meaning of section 25 of the 2018 Act,

“income support” means income support under Part VII of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(^[a]),

“income-based job seekers allowance” means income-based jobseeker’s allowance under the Jobseekers Act 1995,

“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare reform Act 2007 (employment and support allowance),

“independent hospital”—

(a) in England, means a hospital as defined by section 275 of the National Health Service Act 2006 that is not a health service hospital as defined by that section,

(b) in Wales, has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000, and

(c) in Scotland, means an independent healthcare service as defined in section 10F(1)(a) and (b) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978,

“mixed age couple” means a couple where one member has reached pensionable age and the other member has not ,

“Pension Age Winter Heating Payment” means winter heating assistance given in accordance with these Regulations,

“pensionable age” has the meaning given by the rules in paragraph 1 of schedule 4 to the Pensions Act 1995(^[b]),

“qualifying week” means the week beginning on the third Monday in September in any year,

“relevant benefit” means—

(a) state pension credit,

(b) income-based jobseekers allowance,

(c) income-related employment and support allowance,

(d) Income support.

“relevant EU Regulation” means—

(a) one of the following Regulations—

(i) Council Regulation (EC) No. 1408/71 of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons, to self-employed persons and to members of their families moving within the Community,

(ii) Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems, or

(b) in relation to an individual to whom the agreement constituted by the exchange of letters set out in the schedule of the Family Allowances, National Insurance and Industrial Injuries (Gibraltar) Order 1974 applies, a Regulation mentioned in paragraph (a) of this definition as it forms part of domestic law by virtue of section 3 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018,

“state pension credit” has the meaning set out in section 1 of the State Pension Credit Act 2002(^[c]), and

“winter fuel payment” means a payment under the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2000(^[a]) or the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000(^[b]).

(2) In these Regulations—

(a) where an individual lives in a care home or independent hospital, or

(b) where an individual lives with another person in accommodation they share as a mutual home,

any period of temporary absence is disregarded.