Meeting of the Parliament 08 October 2024
The issue and the challenge with all that is that it would require an entire system to be put in place to deal with the mess that has been created by a United Kingdom Government decision. This Scottish Government spends far too much of its time having to pick up the pieces from that Government’s mistakes.
The cut to winter fuel payments and the increase in energy costs is a double whammy for people in Scotland, especially for many of the older and more vulnerable individuals in our country. The Scottish Government is working urgently to mitigate the impact of the UK Government’s damaging decision.
I have written to councils and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to seek their urgent assistance in promoting the take-up of pension credit, as that is the main qualifying benefit by which our older people receive a pension age winter heating payment. Scottish Government officials have been attending events across the country to raise awareness of the connection between pension credit and the pension age winter heating payment, as well as to provide advice and support.
We are also continuing to invest heavily to protect vulnerable households from poverty and to mitigate the impacts of the UK Government’s approach to funding social security. This year alone, we are spending £134 million on schemes such as discretionary housing payments and the Scottish welfare fund, which provide vital support to households struggling to meet their housing and energy costs.
We have also committed £6.1 billion for benefits expenditure. That is a record for Scotland and nearly £1.1 billion more than the UK Government provides to us through the devolution of social security arrangements. That will help older people and low-income families with their living costs. In total, it will support more than 1.2 million people—around one in four Scots—when all Scottish Government benefits have been introduced and clients have been transferred from the Department for Work and Pensions.
We have consistently uprated all of our benefits in line with inflation, and our intention is to make it a legal requirement to uprate all devolved benefits annually. According to the Scottish Fiscal Commission, that is an estimated investment of at least £6 million for 2025-26, rising to at least £12 million in 2029-30.
Some have questioned and even criticised the level of social security expenditure in Scotland but, more than ever in these tough financial times, my Government and I make no apology for putting more money into the pockets of pensioners, families and those who are struggling with the cost of living.
We are also investing more than £12 million in free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice services. That includes support for the Citizens Advice Scotland money talk team service, which supported more than 9,000 older people last year. We have invested in our council tax reduction scheme and free bus travel for older people over the age of 60. We have also provided more than £2 million from our equality and human rights fund to support older people’s organisations to deliver work that is focused on tackling inequality and enabling older people to live independent and fulfilling lives.
In all that, we are continuing our other forms of heating cost support. Our winter heating payment guarantees a reliable annual payment of £58.75 to people on low incomes. Unlike the UK Government’s cold weather payment, it does that regardless of the weather or temperature.
We are also continuing our child winter heating payment. Last year, that provided £7.2 million to support more than 30,000 children, young people and their families who had higher fuel needs due to disability or a health condition. Meanwhile, our warmer homes Scotland and area-based schemes support people who are experiencing fuel poverty to make their homes warmer and more fuel efficient.