Households can get £251 per child (Image: Getty)
Households in the UK can claim between £251 and £502 this winter thanks to a little known benefit.
The Child Winter Heating Payment is paid every winter and this year has increased from £235.70 to £251.50 per child per household.
The money is paid directly to parents and carers to help meet the cost of raising disabled children and young people.
The cash is paid once per year and is paid per child, so if you have two children, the payment is £503 in total.
At a time when in households have lost their £200 to £300 , any help households can get is going to be welcome.
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The benefit is available to those in Scotland and is paid by Social Security Scotland.
Those eligible will need to qualify in the ‘qualifying week’ in September and should receive a letter telling them they’ll be getting the money.
To be eligible, the child needs to be under 19 and be in receipt of: the highest rate of the care component of Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for children; or the highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment; or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment.
The money is in addition to another benefit paid in Scotland called the Winter Heating Payment.
This £58 payment is automatically paid to eligible households and is sent to customers between December and February.
Unlike the Cold Weather Payments, It is not dependent on how cold the weather is and will be paid to households either way.
Qualifying benefits include Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support or Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance, or support for interest.