Scotland excluded from the scheme

Cold weather payments under the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 are now restricted to homes in England or Wales. Following the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 (Winter Heating Assistance) (Consequential Modifications) Order 2022, a fifth condition was inserted into the regulations: "The fifth condition is that the person's home is in England or Wales."¹

The 1988 regulations were made on 7 October 1988 and came into force on 7 November 1988, under powers conferred on the Secretary of State for Social Security by sections 32(2A) and 84(1) of the Social Security Act 1986¹. A cold weather payment is defined in the regulations as "a payment to meet expenses for heating made out of the social fund under section 138(2) of the Act and these Regulations"¹.

Payments are triggered by cold weather, defined as a period of 7 consecutive days during which the average of the mean daily temperature is equal to or below 0 degrees celsius, whether forecast or recorded¹. The Met Office supplies forecasts to the Department for Work and Pensions on a daily basis between 1 November in any year and 31 March in the following year¹. The regulations define the winter period as beginning on 1 November in any year and ending on 31 March in the following year¹.

The amount of the payment in respect of each period of cold weather is £25¹. The original regulations prescribed an amount of £5 in respect of each period, subject to a reduction in respect of any capital in excess of £500¹. A claimant is defined as a person who is claiming or has claimed income support, state pension credit, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance or universal credit, or who is in receipt of owner-occupier loan payments¹.

Why it matters for households

Households in Scotland no longer qualify for cold weather payments under these regulations, because eligibility now depends on the home being in England or Wales¹. The change matters to people on the qualifying benefits, including income support, state pension credit, income-based jobseeker's allowance, income-related employment and support allowance and universal credit, as well as those receiving owner-occupier loan payments¹. For those still within the scheme, the payment remains £25 for each seven day period of cold weather, and the winter period runs from 1 November to 31 March¹. Scotland's separate arrangements are covered in our guide to Pension Age, Child and Winter Heating Payments in Scotland, and the wider split in provision is set out in Devolved benefits: what Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland pay differently.

What happens next

The regulations state that the fifth condition applies, and the winter period for payments runs to 31 March in the following year¹. No further commencement dates beyond those in the regulations have been reported.