Chamber and committees

The latest published Official Statistics for Child Winter Heating Payment show the number of payments issued increased from 18,365 for winter 2020-2021 to 39,590 for winter 2024-2025.

Of the winter 2024-2025 payments issued by 8 April 2025, 93% were for children or young people eligible through Child Disability Payment, with the remaining 7% for those eligible through Adult Disability Payment. Published statistics for Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment show there has been an increase in the respective caseloads over time, which will have contributed to an increase in those receiving Child Winter Heating Payment.

Entitlement to Child Winter Heating Payment was expanded in November 2021 to include anyone up to the age of 19 in receipt of the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment.

In addition to this, since winter 2022 it has also paid to young people up to the age of 19 in receipt of the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.

Social Security Scotland pays Child Winter Heating Payments automatically to eligible children and young people, so most families do not need to apply.

The Scottish Government has no plans to make the Scottish Kept Birds Register publicly searchable.

The Scottish Kept Bird Register is a mandatory register for bird keepers in Scotland under the Avian Influenza (Preventive Measures) (Scotland) Amendment Order 2024. It was established to allow Scottish Government and its deliver body, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, to send vital biosecurity information to bird keepers to minimise the risk of the spread of notifiable avian diseases, particularly highly pathogenic avian influenza. The register also supports mandatory surveillance activities during disease outbreaks. The information has also been used to help support public health response in the offer of vaccinations to poultry keepers.

In accordance with Data Protection Act 2018 a commitment was made to those registering, in the Scottish Kept Bird Register Privacy Notice, as to how the data collected would be used. This can be summarised as to determine the size and location of the kept bird population in Scotland, for communication and disease control activities during notifiable avian disease outbreaks, and for promoting bird welfare and public health.

To make this data public would be in breach of the Data Protection Act of 2018, as the Scottish Government would be unable to control the uses to which the data was being put. The Scottish Government is legally required to make arrangements to ensure that the data collected is retained securely and protected from data breach. This is in common with registers for other animals and livestock across Scotland held by Scottish Government.

As of 8 May 2025, there are 10,786 bird keepers registered on the Scottish Kept Bird Register. In total, they have registered 15,539,346 birds. 15,393,511 of these birds are classified as poultry (which are defined as birds kept for the production of meat or eggs for consumption, or other products, or for restocking and breeding programmes). This category includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, gamebirds and geese. 3,383 of the registered birds are birds of prey and 142, 450 are captive birds of other species.

We recognise this is a challenging time for families. Our essential support for disabled people helps cover the costs of basic everyday living tasks. The qualifying period – which similarly applies in UK disability benefits - ensures this support is targeted to those with long-term conditions. A change to qualifying periods could undermine the fundamental purpose of Disability Assistance.

People don’t need to wait three months to apply for Child or Adult Disability Payment – they can apply as their needs happen. They also don’t need a diagnosis – if they have had the level of needs for 13 weeks when they apply, entitlement starts straight away.

The Young Patients Family Fund helps families of young inpatients cover costs of travel, food and/or accommodation and patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes support families with costs of travelling to hospital appointments. Carers receiving Carer Support Payment (CSP) can have a temporary break from caring if the person they care for is in hospital and still receive CSP. Additionally, the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning fund provides third sector funding to improve emotional wellbeing of young cancer patients and their families and reduce financial worries.

Caledonian Sleeper currently offers accessible rooms, toilets, and designated seating areas for Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) in its carriages. On board ramps operated by Caledonian Sleeper staff enable passengers to enter and exit the carriages, ensuring that the facilities comply with the PRM Technical Standards for Interoperability (TSI) and UK rail safety standards.

Therefore, the Scottish Government has no plans to require Caledonian Sleeper to modify its carriages.

Caledonian Sleeper Ltd. has not yet provided a timeframe for replacing the fold-out tables in individual berths. However, Scottish Rail Holdings advise that Caledonian Sleeper is actively working on the replacement programme and will share a timeline in due course.

Social Security Scotland continues to review and improve how people access its service, including how the organisation communicates with applicants and clients.

The application forms for Adult and Child Disability Payment were designed and developed in consultation with stakeholders to ensure the values of dignity, fairness and respect were embedded throughout.

The application forms allow clients, and their representatives, to tell the organisation how they would prefer to be contacted. It also asks specific questions to help Social Security Scotland understand and respond to any additional accessibility needs.

Through client feedback surveys and panels, clients have told Social Security Scotland they would like choice in how they are contacted. With the client, or their representative’s permission, Social Security Scotland will automatically acknowledge receipt of an application form and provide updates via text and/or email as the application proceeds through the key stages.

The latest Client Survey shows the majority of Adult and Child Disability Payment respondents said their experience of applying for disability benefits was “very good” or “good”. The full survey results can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Client Survey 2023-2024

There are a number of factors that impact on how long it takes Social Security Scotland to make a decision on disability benefit applications, including the time taken to gather the supporting information required to make a decision on an application.

Social Security Scotland continues to work with Local Authorities, Health Boards and GP practices across the country to make it faster and easier for them to send supporting information, and is seeing improvements.

The last nine months of official statistics for Child Disability Payment shows Social Security Scotland has made decisions on new applications almost twice as fast as in the previous financial year. The latest official statistics publication can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Child Disability Payment: high level statistics to 31 December 2024.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication shows Social Security Scotland has made faster decisions on applications over the last year, with average processing times decreasing significantly in the last ten months, when compared to the previous financial year. Latest Adult Disability Payment statistics can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Adult Disability Payment statistics to 31 January 2025

Social Security Scotland has a dedicated application route for terminally ill children and young people, and anyone in Scotland diagnosed with a terminal illness by their healthcare professional can apply for disability benefits under Special Rules for Terminal Illness. Published data shows that applications under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness are currently processed within three working days for Child Disability Payment and two working days for Adult Disability Payment.