Winter Heating Assistance (Pension Age) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025: Policy Note

Application window

This will allow people to apply for assistance until 31 March following the qualifying week. We do not intend to allow retrospective applications beyond this date unless there is good reason for that late application.

We have regulated for the closure of the application window only, to allow flexibility in when applications open.

This approach allows applications throughout the winter that the payment is intended to provide support with, and for a short period after that. The application window as described is appropriate as it intends to provide support over the winter. If an individual requires support, they may reasonably be expected to make their application during the winter period or shortly thereafter. If the winter has already passed and the individual has not already received automated support and has not applied during the winter period, applications may only be made late for good reason. Guidance will be prepared to clarify what is meant by “for good reason”.

Due to the complexities surrounding the process of household matching, it would not be practicable to have an open-ended application window for previous winters. The amount of PAWHP an individual receives is determined by their personal circumstances and the composition of their household during the qualifying week for a given winter. The difficulty of ascertaining an individual’s household circumstances in previous years would introduce significant complexity, and any new information received in later years may have a knock-on impact on the entitlement of other clients who were paid during that previous winter. An open-ended application window for previous winters would therefore introduce extreme administrative complexity which would not be practicable to deliver.