DWP confirms Cold Weather Payments start date and those who can get £25

As the chill of winter draws near, Cold Weather Payments are set to commence in roughly a month's time, with November 1 marking the start of eligibility for the £25 payments. This sum is handed out to eligible households for each seven-day stretch where temperatures are recorded or forecasted to be 0C or below.

Last winter witnessed over 1.4 million payments being made, amounting to around £35million across England and Wales. This signifies an estimated surge of 220,000 from the previous winter. The scheme runs annually from November through to March.

During this timespan, the 71 Met Office weather stations dotted across residential postcodes in England and Wales keep track of the daily average temperatures.

These daily averages from the past week are then utilised by the Met Office to generate a single seven-day average. They also forecast what the seven-day average will be for the forthcoming week.

If these figures are recorded or predicted to be zero degrees or below at a weather station, it triggers a payment for the corresponding residential postcode. The £25 payment is automatically dispatched to eligible households in the postcode and should arrive within 14 days.

Throughout the Cold Weather Payment season, the DWP keeps an updated list of triggered postcodes on its website. These payments are designed to aid those most vulnerable to severe weather conditions, and further details about eligibility can be found on Gov.uk.

Benefits that are eligible for Cold Weather Payments:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Universal Credit
• Support for Mortgage Interest

However, additional criteria apply to some of these benefits. For example, those on JSA must either receive a disability or pensioner premium, have a disabled child, or a child under five living with them.

Likewise, ESA recipients are typically only eligible if they are in a work-related activity group or support group. If not, they will need to meet any of the following conditions to qualify:

• Get the severe or enhanced disability premium
• Get the pensioner premium
• Child who is disabled
• Child under 5 living with you

Universal Credit claimants can usually receive the payments if they or their partner is unemployed or 'gainfully self-employed'. They must also either have a health condition that limits their capability for work or a child under five living with them.

Lastly, Support for Mortgage Interest recipients will only qualify for Cold Weather Payments if they meet one of the following conditions:

• Severe or enhanced disability premium
• Pensioner premium
• A child who is disabled
• A child under 5 living with you

Northern Ireland runs a separate scheme that mirrors the one for England and Wales. From 1 November 2022, Social Security Scotland has introduced the Winter Heating Payment, its replacement for the Cold Weather Payment, for eligible claimants living in Scotland.