Social Security experience panels: cold spell and winter fuel payment – report

Findings from research with Social Security experience panels members on the new cold spell heating assistance and winter heating assistance.


Accessing support to heat your home

Meeting the costs of heating your home

Respondents were asked whether meeting the cost of fuel for heating causes them financial difficulty. More than one in five (21 per cent) said that it caused them financial difficulty throughout the year. A further 55 per cent said that it caused them financial difficulty in colder months.

Table 7: Does meeting the cost of fuel for heating cause you financial difficulty (n=125)
Response options (select one) %
Throughout the year 21
In colder months 55
Never 24

Accessing information on Cold Weather and Winter Fuel Payments

Around half (51 per cent) said that they would know where to go for information on Cold Weather Payment and/or Winter Fuel Payment.

Table 8: Do you know where to go for information on Cold Weather Payment and/ or Winter Fuel Payment (n=125)
Response options (select one) %
Yes 51
No 38
I don't know 11

Respondents were asked about where they had accessed information about Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payments. A quarter (25 per cent) of respondents had found information on the Government's website Gov.uk. One in seven (14 per cent) had received information from friends or family, and one in eight (12 per cent) from Citizens Advice.

Table 9: Have you found information on Cold Weather Payment and/or Winter Fuel Payment from any of the following? (n=85)
Response options (select all that apply) %
Gov.uk 25
Other 21
Friends or family 14
Citizens Advice Bureau 12
Through a support organisation 8
Newspaper 8
Housing association 4
Radio 3
Helpline 2

Among those who said they had found information somewhere else (21 per cent of respondents), respondents said they had got this information from a support worker, advocate, or other professional advising on benefits, from looking online, from their energy supplier or from someone providing health or social care.

Contact

Email: Socialsecurityexperience@gov.scot

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