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Scottish landlords welcome winter fuel payments and £1m for homelessness prevention
Housing associations have welcomed the Scottish government’s announcement of winter fuel payments for pensioners and £1m for homelessness prevention.
Scottish ministers said that they would introduce Pension Age Winter Heating Payments next year, ensuring a payment for every pensioner household in winter 2025-26.
Scottish social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said that next winter, pensioners in receipt of a qualifying benefit, such as pension credit, will receive £300 or £200 depending on their age. Meanwhile, all other pensioner households will receive £100.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) administration in Holyrood had been under pressure from a motion laid down by Scottish Labour that would have forced them to introduce a payment or vote against such plans.
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The reintroduction of universal payments in Scotland, announced on 28 November, also came as a rebuke from the SNP to UK Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves, who has pledged to remove the universal benefit.
Ms Somerville also announced a £41m package of support for people struggling with energy costs this winter. The measures include £20m to councils to provide support under the Scottish Welfare Fund.
An additional £20m will be invested in Warmer Homes Scotland, the national fuel poverty scheme that helps people install energy-efficiency measures and more efficient heating systems.
Meanwhile, grant funding of £1m will be made available to registered social landlords and third-sector partners to fund work to help sustain tenancies and prevent homelessness. This is in response to calls from a coalition of housing and anti-poverty organisations for a shift in spending from crisis intervention to prevention.
The measures came as Holyrood gears up for the Scottish Budget on Wednesday 4 December.
Social landlords are hoping to see an increase to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme after the Scottish government received a £610m boost to its capital budget from the UK Budget in October.
Ms Somerville said: “This universal benefit – providing much-needed support not available anywhere else in the UK – will deliver support for all pensioner households as we had always intended to do before the UK government decision to means test winter fuel payments cut the funding available to support our new benefit in Scotland this winter by £147m.
“We will not abandon older people this winter or any winter. We will do our best to make sure no-one has to make a decision between heating and eating, and we will continue to protect pensioners.”
Carolyn Lochhead, director of external affairs at the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, said: “Housing associations work every day to prevent homelessness by providing tenants with the support that they might need, whether that’s welfare rights and energy advice or with longer-term health and social care needs. But ever more stretched, they can’t do all of this alone.
“We’re pleased to see Scottish government have listened to our calls for funding to shore up this work, which is so vital at a time when record numbers of people lack a safe, secure and affordable home.
“As we look towards the Scottish Budget, we’re hopeful that Scotland’s social homes and social tenants will see further much-needed support.”
