Scottish pensioners who lost out on winter fuel payments this year are to receive a new Holyrood benefit next year, the government has confirmed. The payment will not be ready until late 2025, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told parliament.

The Scottish Government said it will ‘continue to protect our pensioners from the harsh reality of a UK Labour Government’.

Pensioners in Scotland are set to get help with energy costs after winter fuel payments across the UK were cut by Labour.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves ended universal entitlement to the Winter Fuel Payment, worth up to £300, in a move backed by MPs after Labour won the general election. Under the new rules, eligibility is limited to those in receipt of Pension Credit.

Every pensioner in Scotland - around one million people - will receive a winter heating payment next year, the Scottish Government announced on Thursday afternoon. Ministers were forced to delay plans to bring in the devolved pension age winter heating payment this year when the universality of its UK-wide counterpart was cut.