East Kilbride residents will be 'better off' with new £50 Winter Heating Payment says MSP

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The MSP for East Kilbride says her constituents will be "better off" under the SNP's new Winter Heating Payment scheme. Collette Stevenson has welcomed the news that many local households will receive an automatic £50 from the Scottish Government’s new benefit in the coming weeks.The new payment replaces the Cold Weather Payment – a Westminster benefit administered by the DWP – that only paid out when the temperature at certain weather stations fell far enough for an extended period.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android This meant many areas across Scotland missed out on any help at all from one year to the next.Last winter, no cold weather payments were made across whole swathes of the country – including in East Kilbride.In total, only 11,000 people in the whole of the country received the cash from Westminster.The new Scottish benefit will see £20 million put into the pockets of 415,000 households in the next few weeks.This year around 26,400 households in South Lanarkshire alone will get an extra £50 to help with the cost-of-living crisis.The money will be delivered to eligible households in the coming weeks.Commenting on the roll-out of the Winter Heating Payment, Collette said: “Under the previous UK Government scheme, people in East Kilbride could only receive a payment if the weather station