Scotland's Winter Heating Payment continues in place of Cold Weather Payment
Eligible Scottish households receive a fixed £58.75 payment regardless of temperature, replacing the trigger-based system used elsewhere.
By Money Guide editorial team
Published:
Scotland's Winter Heating Payment, a fixed annual payment of £58.75 (2025/26) made to eligible low-income households, again replaces the trigger-based Cold Weather Payment used in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Eligibility is based on receipt of a qualifying benefit (Pension Credit, Universal Credit with limited capability for work, income-related ESA or JSA, Income Support, Support for Mortgage Interest) during a qualifying week in November.
Payments are made automatically by Social Security Scotland; there is no separate application. Recipients receive the payment regardless of weather, eliminating the lottery aspect of trigger-based payments.
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the Cold Weather Payment system pays £25 for each seven-day period of below-freezing average temperatures at a designated weather station local to a recipient's postcode.