Earlier this week, the SNP Government received the data needed from the UK Department of Work and Pensions to identify everyone in Scotland who is eligible to receive an automatic £50 from the SNP Government’s new Winter Heating Payment.
Payments will be made over the next few weeks regardless of weather conditions.
The new payment replaces the £25 Cold Weather Payment - a Westminster benefit - that only paid out when the temperature in North Ayrshire fell below zero for seven consecutive days, which was very rare.
Kenneth Gibson MSP said:
“The SNP Government has replaced the old Westminster payment with a new reliable Scottish payment guaranteed every year and which doesn’t depend on temperatures turning Baltic.
“It means those in need will get the much-needed extra cash this month.
“Last winter, no cold weather payments were made across whole swathes of the country. In total, only 11,000 people in Scotland received a payment.
“This year, the SNP Government will ensure around 14,300 households in North Ayrshire alone will receive an extra £50 to help with the Tory cost-of-living crisis.”
