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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
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