A NEW heating benefit has been hailed as a “game changer” after replacing a DWP payment.

The Winter Heating Payment (WHP) will see £50 go out to people to help them pay their heating bills.

It will be paid automatically to eligible people rather than be triggered by weather, unlike the Department for Work and Pensions’ Cold Weather Payment.

This means the WHP will be a fixed annual payment, meanwhile residents in England and Wales won’t get the cash unless there is a temperature drop.

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The new payment will see £20 million paid out over February and March, with each eligible person receiving the money with no application needed.

The Scottish Government took over responsibility for the payments from this year.

Now the SNP’s MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, Gavin Newlands, has welcomed the roll out of the payment.

It comes after no Renfrewshire residents received help with heating costs last winter, leaving people struggling to get by.

Mr Newlands said: “This new payment is a real game changer for households across the country who are struggling with heating costs at a time of huge pressure on people’s finances.

“Not a single household in Renfrewshire received a penny to help with heating costs last winter, and across Scotland on average less than 200,000 people got a single payment over any of the last seven years.

“In contrast every single eligible person will automatically receive the new Winter Heating Payment, rather than having to wait for sustained freezing weather to trigger payments.

“That means 400,000 people – including thousands in Renfrewshire – will receive £50 in their bank account over the coming weeks, with next year’s payment coming in at over £55 to track the cost of living.

“The Scottish Government’s £20m investment in boosting benefits means real help to tackle fuel poverty and shows why full control over the social security system should be transferred to Scotland as quickly as possible to a government that actually wants to do something that helps people.”

 

 

We previously reported that Ben Macpherson, Scottish social security minister, said: “This year our new Winter Heating Payment will provide 400,000 people most in need with a reliable, automatic £50 payment to help towards their heating costs.

“The payment will reach significantly more people than the benefit it has replaced. On average only 185,000 people received the equivalent Cold Weather Payments from the UK Government over the last seven years - whereas we will pay everyone eligible every year.”