More than 44,200 disabled children and young people in Scotland will receive an automatic one-off payment of £265.50 this winter to help cover higher energy bills. The Scottish Government confirmed earlier this year that the Child Winter Heating Payment will rise from £255.80 to £265.50 in the 2026/27 financial year.
Who qualifies for the payment?
A child or young person may qualify if they are under 19 and receive one of the following: the highest rate care component of Child Disability Payment, the highest rate care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children, the enhanced rate daily living component of Adult Disability Payment (ADP), or the enhanced rate daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
They must be entitled to one of the qualifying benefits on at least one day during the qualifying week, which runs from Monday, September 21 to Tuesday, September 29. People do not need to be receiving the qualifying disability benefit for the whole of the qualifying week. A young person may also be eligible if their qualifying benefit was not being paid during that period because they were in hospital or residential care.
How much is the payment and how is it paid?
The payment will be worth £265.50 for winter 2026/27, an increase of £9.70 on last year's rate of £255.80. The payment is made for each eligible child or young person rather than per household. This means a household with two children who both meet the qualifying conditions could receive £531 in total.
Most people do not need to apply for the payment. Social Security Scotland identifies eligible children and young people from their qualifying disability benefit award and will send a letter before making the payment. The money is normally paid into the same bank account as the qualifying disability benefit. Payments are made from October and throughout the winter, so eligible families should not necessarily expect everyone to receive the money at the same time.
What is Child Winter Heating Payment?
Child Winter Heating Payment is designed to help families of disabled children and young people with the additional heating costs they may face during the winter. It was previously known as Child Winter Heating Assistance and was first introduced in Scotland in 2020. The payment is not dependent on the weather or temperature where someone lives.
The payment does not affect entitlement to other benefits, and families do not need to provide evidence or receipts showing how they use the money. Some eligible young people living outside Scotland in the European Economic Area or Switzerland may also qualify where they have a genuine and sufficient link to Scotland. Unlike payments to eligible people living in Scotland, these payments are not automatic and an application may be required. Full details about Child Winter Heating Payment can be found on MYGOV.SCOT.
