Around 7,000 Angus Households to Benefit
Around 7,000 households across Angus will receive an automatic £50 heating support payment in the coming weeks.
This is the Scottish Government’s new Winter Heating Payment, which will be paid out regardless of weather conditions.
It replaces the Cold Weather Payment – a Westminster benefit administered by the DWP that only paid out when the temperature in an area fell far enough for an extended period. This meant many areas across Scotland missed out on any help at all from one year to the next, because it was just not cold enough for long enough.
The total amount paid out also varied enormously from year to year. Between 2015 and 2022, an average of only £8.3 million was given out in Scotland to an average of 185,000 households.
In contrast, the new £50 Scottish payment is guaranteed to be paid to every eligible household whatever the weather.
The SNP Scottish Government has now received the data required from the DWP to identify everyone in Scotland who is eligible. That data is now going through a quality assurance process to make sure all payments are paid safely and securely.
The money will be delivered to eligible households later this month and next.
– Graeme
Last winter, swathes of the country received no such support – only 11,000 people nationwide received the DWP payment.
It truly is a major improvement that around 7,000 hard-pressed households in Angus alone will get this £50 boost shortly, without being perversely forced to hope for dangerously cold weather.
The new Scottish benefit will see £20 million put into the pockets of 415,000 households in the next few weeks, helping people cope with the ongoing Tory cost-of-living crisis.
This is a very welcome move, and I hope the guaranteed nature of the payment provides reassurance to many constituents.
