Helping 60 disabled children and young people with winter heating costs

Thousands of families of disabled children and young people received an additional £214.10 to help heat their homes this winter, according to latest official statistics for Child Winter Heating Assistance.

Around 60 payments worth £13,000 were made for winter 2022/2023 in Orkney, £6000 more than for the last winter. In total, £28,000 in Child Winter Heating Assistance payments have been issued in Orkney since the benefit launched in November 2020.

The payment is made automatically once a year and will be increased by 10.1% to £235.70 for winter 2023-2024.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice in the Scottish Government , Shirley-Anne Somerville said:

“The cost of living crisis and higher energy bills mean that families are struggling more than ever.

“Getting this money to families who may need to heat their homes for longer than others over the winter months provides crucial financial support and eases financial pressure at a challenging time of year. Therefore, it is welcome news that £13,000 has been paid to eligible families in Orkney Islands for winter 2022/23.

“This Scottish Government benefit is one of seven benefits only available in Scotland and is automatically paid to families of the most severely disabled children and young people .

“I urge anyone who is struggling during the cost of living crisis to visit the Scottish Government’s Cost of Living website for support and advice.”

Child Winter Heating Assistance was first introduced in 2020 and was the first form of disability benefit to be introduced by the Scottish Government.

For Scotland as a whole, as of 31 March 2023:

• A total of 26,555 Child Winter Heating Assistance payments had been issued for Winter 2022/2023.
• The total value of Child Winter Heating Assistance payments issued for winter 2022/2023 was £5.7 million.
• The total value of Child Winter Heating Assistance payments issued since November 2020 was £13.4 million.

For winter 2022/2023, 18,835 payments were issued for children or young people eligible through Child Disability Payment and 25 payments were issued for children or young people eligible through Adult Disability Payment. This accounts for 71% of payments. The remaining 7,695 payments were for children or young people eligible through either Disability Living Allowance for Children or Personal Independence Payment.

Children and young people in Scotland can get Child Winter Heating Assistance if they’re under 19 years old, are resident in Scotland or have a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland and are receiving one of the ‘qualifying benefits’ during the qualifying week.

The qualifying benefits include the highest rate care component of Child Disability Payment, the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance for Children, the enhanced daily living component of Personal Independence Payment and the enhanced daily living component of Adult Disability Payment. 

If there is more than one child or young person who qualifies in a household, each child will get a payment.

Eligible children and young people living in Scotland get the payment automatically and do not need to apply separately.

Child Winter Heating Assistance has been increased to £235.70 for winter 2023-2024, a 10.1 % increase in line with inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index.

Fiona Grahame