Information regarding the Adult Disability Payment (ADP) indefinite awards and Child Winter Heating Payment in 2025/26: FOI release

Information requested

Request for information 1: Number of current Adult Disability Payment (ADP) awards.

Request for information 2: Number of current ADP indefinite awards.

Request for information 3: Number of children/young people expected to receive Child Winter Heating Payment (CWHP) this winter (2025–26 winter)

Request for information 4: Number of those expected to be in receipt of CWHP in "in certain European Economic Area (EEA) countries or Switzerland" as described in Who can get Child Winter Heating Payment - mygov.scot "If the child no longer lives in Scotland"

Response

Request for information 1:

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance Social Security Scotland does not have some of the information you have requested. This is because we haven’t undertaken the analysis up to the date of your request. Public authorities are not required to create information to answer a request if this would require skilled and complex judgement. Therefore, we consider the information to be not held.

This is a formal notice under section 17(1) of FOISA that Social Security Scotland does not have theinformation you have requested.

We routinely publish Adult Disability Payment (ADP) statistics which includes award information. The latest was published on the 16 December and is available at Adult Disability Payment statistics to 31 October 2025 - Social Security Scotland

Request for information 2:

Social Security Scotland implements indefinite awards when a client’s needs are unlikely to change, and the client is awarded the enhanced rate of both the daily living and mobility components.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. This is because identifying which indefinite awards are currently active would require manual interrogation of thousands of individual cases.

Under section 12 of FOISA public authorities are not required to comply with a request for information if the authority estimates that the cost of complying would exceed the upper cost limit, which is currently set at £600 by Regulations made under section 12.

It is unlikely that your question could be narrowed sufficiently to bring the cost below this limit. However you may find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner's 'Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs' on his website at: How do I ask for information? | Scottish Information Commissioner

Request for information 3:

The Scottish Fiscal Commission forecast that 44,971 disabled children and young people are to receive Child Winter Heating Payment in 2025/26.

You will find related information at Scotland's Child Winter Heating Payment reaches fifth year - gov.scot

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 Social Security Scotland does not hold Child Winter Heating Payment forecasts for overseas recipients.

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

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.