Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP): equality impact assessment

Recommendations and Conclusion

106. Based on the evidence collated, it is clear there are a number of factors which make pensioners with protected characteristics more likely to need additional support with their heating expenses, including low levels of income, higher energy needs because of a health condition or disability, as well as lower quality of housing, or lack of central heating. Energy prices continue to be a key driver of fuel poverty, and PAWHP will provide all pensioner households with a valuable contribution towards meeting those costs.

107. This approach will have a positive impact on vulnerable pensioners who are not eligible for Pension Credit, or who do not take up their entitlement, but still face financial difficulties and would benefit from this support. It provides an efficient means of delivering support across Scotland’s pensioner cohort; mitigating the increases in energy costs; and providing that cost-of-living support for all pensioner households, helping reduce pensioner poverty and support fixed pensioner household incomes.

108. Whilst instating universal eligibility to PAWHP will not tackle fuel poverty alone, it will help towards the costs of keeping warm in the winter months when heating bills are higher. Universal PAWHP will sit alongside other Scottish Government support such as energy efficiency schemes which aim to tackle poor energy efficiency as a driver of fuel poverty. Universal PAWHP will provide reassurance to all older people that they will receive support to help towards the costs of keeping warm in the winter months when heating bills are higher. This is particularly important given the significant increase in the cost of living.

109. The Social Security (Scotland) 2018 Act established the Scottish Commission on Social Security (SCoSS), an independent expert body that will scrutinise the Scottish social security system (including benefit regulations) and hold Scottish Ministers to account. As part of their function, they examine the regulations required for the administration of PAWHP and will produce a report setting out their observations and recommendations in relation to the proposals. The report will be submitted to Scottish Ministers, the Scottish Parliament and made available to the wider public as required by the duty conferred on Scottish Ministers by section 97 of the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018.

110. The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to publish an annual report on the performance of the Scottish social security system during the previous financial year. The report is to describe what the Scottish Ministers have done in that year to meet the expectations on them set out in the Charter.

111. As with all social security benefits, we will carry out an evaluation following the delivery of the benefit and continue to investigate ways of improving the benefit.

112. The Scottish Government will put in place a monitoring and evaluation plan for PAWHP. Monitoring the impact of PAWHP will be a continuous process and where any unintended consequences are identified, we will consider what steps can be made to minimise any negative impact.

113. We will collate management information to monitor the characteristics of recipients and will undertake qualitative research to test whether PAWHP is meeting its policy intentions. This will inform any future consideration of variations to policy or delivery arrangements.