Scottish government extends child winter heating assistance to 16-18 year olds on PIP enhanced daily living component

2 mins read

Wednesday 17 November 2021

Tags: scotland, welfare benefits, child winter assistance, personal independence payment

New rules mean that child winter heating assistant payments can be made to parents in Scotland who have a young person aged under 19 on the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

Up until now, this annual payment has been made to families with a child under 19 getting the higher rate care of either Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or the new Child Disability Payment.

Child winter heating assistance is a lump sum payment in Scotland to help families with severely disabled children pay their winter heating costs.

How much is child winter heating assistance?

Child winter assistance is an annual payment of £202 made to each family in Scotland who has a child under 19 who gets one of the benefits mentioned above.

You will get this new winter payment for each child in your family who gets one of the qualifying disability benefits, regardless of what other income you have. To qualify, your child must have been receiving one of these benefits for at least one day in the 3rd week of September. 

A policy note issued by the Scottish Government confirms that families who have a young person who was on PIP enhanced daily living component last September 2020 will also be awarded a backdated payment to cover winter 2020/21.

The payment is made automatically using Department for Work and Pensions / Social Security Scotland records, so you do not need to apply. Payments are made during the winter in batches.

If you think you should qualify for a payment but have not received a letter about this by the 31 December, please contact Social Security Scotland on 0800 182 2222.

Find out more about welfare benefits in Scotland

Read more about welfare benefits in Scotland, financial support from Scottish local authorities and benefits for all UK families.