The Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) Regulations 2024: scrutiny report

3.1 Applications

Generally, an individual would not need to apply for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP) as payment is usually made automatically. Draft regulation 12 stipulates that a determination without application of an individual’s entitlement to PAWHP must be made for anyone where there is reason to believe that they would be likely to have entitlement to it.

Where PAWHP has not been paid, an individual can apply. In response to our queries, officials have stated that it is expected that an individual may need to manually apply if they are:

• not receiving a benefit administered by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (including their State Pension) and have not received a Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) before, or
• have deferred their State Pension since their last WFP or PAWHP;
• if they live abroad, even if they do get a DWP-administered benefit; or,
• if they are part of a mixed aged couple in receipt of Universal Credit.¹Someone who is over Pension Credit qualifying age can claim Universal Credit if they have a partner who is under that age. Most couples will not be able to qualify for Pension Credit until both partners have reached Pension Credit age. Mixed age couples: benefit impacts of ending access to Pension Credit and pension age Housing Benefit (www.gov.uk)

Applications must be made by the end of March after the September qualifying week. Late applications can be accepted where there are sufficient reasons for the individual not having submitted their application by the deadline, or where the decision that an individual was entitled to a relevant benefit in respect of the qualifying week is taken after that week, or where the individual ceases to be excluded (during the qualifying week) from social security payments under immigration rules.²Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 (legislation.gov.uk)

Officials informed us that people will be able to submit an application for PAWHP over the phone, by posting a paper application form or through the Local Delivery service. SCoSS was also told that communications about the manual application routes, processes and deadlines would be made available via online and offline channels aimed at stakeholders and people who might be eligible. This includes mygov.scot webpages, and will be signposted to via a range of outputs including factsheets, news stories, social media and Social Security Scotland’s stakeholder newsletter.

In addition, existing forums such as the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum and Social Security Scotland’s Operational Reference Group, as well as roadshow events, will be used to inform and prepare relevant stakeholders about the manual application process so they can support clients to apply. Key messaging will explain who needs apply, how and by when. Messaging will be regularly repeated across each channel and amplified closer to the deadline and will respond to feedback from ongoing stakeholder engagement to make sure messages are reaching and resonating with clients.

SCoSS also notes that, whilst the assumption is that only a minority will need to make an application, numbers may be fairly high (given the anticipated caseload of PAWHP overall).³One Experience Panel survey found that over one in six respondents receiving the WFP had applied for it, though this only relates to 11 respondents. Social Security experience panels: cold spell and winter fuel payment – report (www.gov.scot); further research with a representative sample of WFP recipients may be helpful in this area.

Recommendation 5: Following the launch of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, the Scottish Government and Social Security Scotland should monitor the numbers and characteristics of people who apply for the benefit and how the application process is working in practice. Data collected should inform work with stakeholder organisations to help people understand whether they can expect to be paid Pension Age Winter Heating Payment automatically, or need to apply.

3.2 Re-determinations

Requests for re-determinations for WFP must usually be made within one month; the draft Regulations allow people up to 42 days to request a re-determination for PAWHP. This is the same time limit as for re-determination requests for Adult Disability Payment, Carer Support Payment, Child Disability Payment and Child Winter Heating Payment, but longer than for other Scottish Social Security benefits for which the window is only 31 days. For Winter Heating Payment, Social Security Scotland should provide a response to a request for re-determination within 16 working days. Social Security Scotland should provide a response to a request for re-determination of PAWHP within 56 days; this is longer than some other social security payments because of the high caseload anticipated at launch and the complexity of decision making.⁴Policy Note (socialsecuritycommission.scot)

SCoSS recognises that it is sensible for the time in which a response to a request for re-determination is required to be matched to the degree of complexity of the assessment Social Security Scotland are required to make for a particular payment. However, it is harder to justify having different periods of time within which a request for re-determination must be made for different payments. It is also likely to be confusing for recipients, who may have the same grounds for requesting a re-determination for two different social security payments and who are told that it is too late to make the request for one of the payments.

Recommendation 6: The Scottish Government should align the periods of time in which requests for re-determinations for Scottish winter heating payments can be made.