Winter Heating Payment (Low Income) (Scotland): child rights and wellbeing impact assessment

How will the impact of the policy/measure be monitored?

42. The Winter Benefits Stakeholder Reference Group will continue to play a vital role in the development of WHP policy and practice. The group membership is comprised of key stakeholders supporting and representing the needs of WHP recipients. The group provides a forum for dialogue and will monitor the implementation of the benefit, raising any issues voiced by eligible recipients and organisations.

43. The Scottish Government will put in place a monitoring and evaluation plan for WHP which takes account of the issues identified within this impact assessment. Monitoring the impact of the WHP 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.

44. The Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to report annually to the Scottish Parliament 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 and will include information on the impact on protected characteristics. This work will also be reviewed against progress of commitments within the Scottish Government’s Best Start, Bright Futures Child Poverty Delivery Plan.

45. Once payments are being made we will, as with other benefits, seek to make ongoing improvements based on the feedback of applicants. We will collate management information to monitor the characteristics of recipients and will undertake qualitative research to test whether WHP is meeting its policy intentions. This will inform any future consideration of variations to policy or delivery arrangements.

Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) wellbeing indicators

46. Wellbeing sits at the heart of the GIRFEC approach and reflects the need to tailor the support and help that children, young people and their parents are offered to support their wellbeing.

47. Wellbeing indicators (Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible, Included) are set out in the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. Of the eight indicators, WHP policy positively relates to:

Healthy: The introduction of WHP will ensure low income households that contain children and young people and that are identified as most in need receive reliable financial support to heat their home during the coldest period of the year. This will improve the financial position of households in this group, supporting them to turn on their heating more often, improving their home environment which will support their health and enhance their wellbeing.

Achieving: The introduction of a stable annual payment will ensure all households that meet the criteria will not be as financially constrained due to living in a household with a low income. This will provide a warmer home environment in which a child or young person can do their homework or study, for example, which in turn can support them to achieve good outcomes in their life.

Nurtured: The introduction of WHP will help to ensure all those entitled receive support towards their heating bills, reducing the financial constraints in the household, the stress associated with this and support the provision of a nurturing environment.

Included: The additional support towards heating costs may mean a household can afford to send their child to an after school activity, for example, making the child feel more included in their peer group and may help to overcome economic inequality.