Pension Age Winter Heating Payment: Statement made under s97(9)(b) of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018

The Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) Regulations 2024

SSI 2024/XXX

Statement made under s97(9)(b) of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018

Section 97(2) of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 requires Scottish Ministers to inform the Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS) of these proposals in the form of draft regulations. The Scottish Ministers provided a revised draft of the regulations to SCoSS shortly before laying this draft instrument in compliance with section 97(2).

On 29 July 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the UK Government’s intention to restrict eligibility to Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) to those in receipt of relevant benefits. The UK Government’s decision reduced the Block Grant Adjustment by an estimated £150 million in 2024-25, nearly 90% of the cost of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment. As a result, following careful consideration of the options available for Scotland, the Scottish Government announced that it must replicate the decision made by the UK Government and restrict eligibility for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment to older people on relevant benefits which is to be delivered in Scotland this winter by the Department for Work and Pensions on behalf of the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Ministers previously provided SCoSS with draft regulations on the previous policy of universal eligibility. However, as the exceptional circumstances require the revised regulations to be laid as a matter of urgency to ensure eligible pensioners can be paid this winter, it has not been possible to meet SCoSS requirements for the necessary time to scrutinise and publish a report on the regulations as they have been updated to achieve targeted eligibility.

The Scottish Ministers have now provided SCoSS with the revised Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) 2024 Regulations for retrospective scrutiny, and have provided a response to those areas of the original SCoSS report which still apply to the revised regulations.

As such, we are laying this draft instrument as updated to achieve targeted eligibility under section 97(9)(b) of the Act without a report from SCoSS having been prepared. SCoSS has been informed of the extraordinary circumstances resulting from the timing of UK Government’s announcement, and it is content to scrutinise the regulations retrospectively.

Scottish Government