Welcome news that winter heating payment will at least match UK

Responding to the First Minister's announcement that no Scottish pensioner "will receive less than they would under the new UK scheme" for winter fuel payments, Adam Stachura, Associate Director of Policy, Communications and External Affairs at Age Scotland, said:

“This is welcome news from the First Minister and will reassure pensioners on low and modest incomes that they will be better able to manage their huge winter energy bills. There has been considerable concern from many older people over the last week that they would receive less winter support than people in England and Wales, so this sensible move from the Scottish Government certainly allays that anxiety.
 
"We've been really concerned that for hundreds of thousands of Scottish pensioners on low and modest incomes, living in fuel poverty and not claiming or entitled to Pension Credit that the £100 Pension Age Winter Heating Payment just wouldn't be enough. It is good news that the Scottish Government have now also recognised that. 
 
"We've asked the First Minster to commit to using every penny of the new funding to boost the energy support payment for pensioners in Scotland, rather than covering what they have already budgeted for. The money is now there to not only match what pensioners in England and Wales but offer even more to those on the lowest incomes and help drive down the astronomically high levels of fuel poverty and financial insecurity faced by pensioners in Scotland.
 
"The devil is in the detail, though, and we look forward to understanding how the Scottish Government will manage this payment this winter and what, if any, financial thresholds they place on its eligibility. They are in a slightly tricky situation as they have already gone to some length to cement the benefits of a universal payment in Scotland."