Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002
FOI Reference: FOI/202500466091
Date received: 14 May 2025
Date responded: 4 June 2025
Information requested
Request for information 1: The number of Winter Heating Payments that were paid in November 2024, December 2024, January 2025, February 2025, March 2025, April 2025 and May 2025 to date.
Request for information 2: The number of late payments per month, and a breakdown of the reasons for late payments.
Request for information 3: The number of Winter Heating Payments that have yet to be paid.
Request for information 4: The number of people eligible for Winter Fuel Payments in Scotland in 2024/25.
Request for information 5: By what month/criteria Social Security Scotland considers Winter Heating Payments to have been made late.
Response
Request for information 1:
Under Section 25(1) of FOISA we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
Statistical information on Winter Heating Payments made between 1 November 2024 and 31 March 2025 are available within our published tables: Social Security Scotland - Winter Heating Benefits: Statistics for Winter 2024/2025.
The number of payments made each month can be found in “Table 1 – Payments by Period”.
We can provide the following figures for Winter Heating Payments made in April and May 2025. The May figure covers payments made between 01 May 2025 and 14 May 2025.
|
Month |
Total Winter Heating Payments |
|
April 2025 |
8,156 |
|
May 2025 |
60 |
Our Official Statistics publications are available at Social Security Scotland - Statistics.
Request for information 2:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.
This is because Social Security Scotland have not defined what would constitute a late payment and do not hold data on this.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.
Request for information 3:
As of 23 May 2025 there were 538 outstanding Winter Heating Payments (WHP) identified. These payments are all waiting for the provision of information from clients as set out below:
Request for information 4:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.
This is because Winter Fuel Payment is no longer available to people living in Scotland. This benefit was replaced by Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP) in 2024.
In 2024, Pension Age Winter Heating Payment was paid by the Department for Work and Pension (DWP).
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.
If you like to request this information from DWP you can go to Make a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to DWP - GOV.UK.
Request for information 5:
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.
This is because Social Security Scotland have not defined what would constitute a late payment and do not hold data on this.
This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that Social Security Scotland does not have the information you have requested.
About FOI
Social Security Scotland is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. The Scottish Government also publishes responses to requests. You can view the responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.