Social Security Scotland - costs incurred by overpayment of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment: FOI release

Information requested

Request for information 1:

How much extra administrative and financial cost has this process incurred?

Request for information 2:

How many payments were made, and how many were then changed?

Response

We have interpreted your request as relating to the overpayment of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP)

Request for information 1:

The volume of staff required to deliver Pension Age Winter Heating Payment was determined by the number of eligible clients. The Scottish Fiscal Commission (Table 5.2) forecast that approximately 1,053,000 Pension Age Winter Heating Payments would be made during winter 2025/2026.

There have been no additional costs. Our staff work flexibly across all of the 18 benefits delivered by Social Security Scotland and are deployed on an agile basis to meet demands.

Client Advisors support a range of activities, including pre-application processes, client advice and support, through telephony and other channels, payment and administrative processes, and supporting the performance and management activity related to service delivery.

Request for information 2:

Some of the information you have requested is available on Table 3 of our latest Winter Heating publication. Under section 25(1) of FOISA, we do not have to give you information which is already reasonably accessible to you. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.

We have published details of our three winter benefit payments made up to 21 February 2026. Our next publication will be released on 19 May 2026 which will detail payments made up to 31 March 2026.

Payment amounts for Pension Age Winter Heating Payment are determined based on individual client circumstances at the point of assessment, using data received from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). These payments are made in good faith on the basis of the information available at that time.

As client circumstances can change and data may be updated after payments have been made, payment values are not static and may vary between individuals. Given the scale of delivery and the reliance on externally sourced data, it is recognised that a small number of overpayments may arise as a natural consequence of administering the benefit at volume, rather than as a result of any systemic issue.

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 no analysis has been undertaken in this area.

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.