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A Cold Weather Payment is available for some people receiving certain benefits when temperatures drop below freezing for seven days in a row.
If you’re eligible, you can get Cold Weather Payments for each seven-day period the temperature is forecast to be, or recorded as, zero degrees celsius or below on average.
How much is the Cold Weather Payment?
The Cold Weather Payment is a one-off payment for each extended period of below-freezing temperatures in winter. If you’re eligible you get £25 when the average temperature falls to zero degrees celsius or below for seven consecutive days.
You don’t need to do anything to get Cold Weather Payments, because the government pays them automatically when the temperature gets cold enough.
However, Cold Weather Payments only apply to those living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has a separate “Winter Heating Payment” scheme.
When temperatures drop below freezing, households may struggle to stay warm because of worries about the cost of heating their homes.
Since the energy crisis began in the autumn of 2021, energy price rises have affected many households across the country, with the most vulnerable being the worst hit. These include lower income households and households with long-term sick or disabled people who don’t have a choice about using lots of energy, like needing to power important equipment such as wheelchairs and ventilators.
The charity British Red Cross recommends that rooms should be heated to at least 18 degrees celsius to maintain a healthy body core temperature of 37 degrees celsius. However, the charity National Energy Action estimates that 6 million UK households are currently in fuel poverty and unable to afford to heat their homes to that temperature.
When will I get my Cold Weather Payment?
If you’re eligible for a Cold Weather Payment, you should get it within 14 working days of the period of freezing temperatures. Cold Weather Payments are paid into the same account your benefits are paid into.
The Cold Weather Payment scheme usually runs from 1 November to 31 March each year.
To find out whether you’re due a Cold Weather Payment, you can use the government’s postcode checker. This tells you how many payments those eligible should receive based on the weather your area experienced.
If you live in Northern Ireland, there’s a separate NI postcode checker you can use.
Who gets Cold Weather Payments?
You may be eligible for Cold Weather Payments if you live in England or Wales and receive certain benefits. These include:
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Support for Mortgage Interest
Cold Weather Payment eligibility
If you get Pension Credit, then you should get Cold Weather Payments. If you receive any of the other benefits, then you may only get Cold Weather Payments if you’re in a more vulnerable group. Here’s a breakdown:
You may receive Cold Weather Payments if you get Universal Credit and you’re not employed or self-employed. Your partner can’t be employed or self-employed, either.
You must also either have a health condition or disability that means you’re unable to work or have a child living with you who’s younger than five.
To receive Cold Weather Payments while on Income Support or JSA, you also need to have one of the following:
- a child living with you who’s under five
- a child who’s disabled
- a disability or pensioner premium
- receive the disability or severe disability part of Child Tax Credit
If you get income-related ESA and are in a work-related support group or activity group, you should be eligible for Cold Weather Payments.
If you’re not in a group like this, you may still receive Cold Weather Payments if you have one of the following:
- a child living with you who’s under five
- a child who’s disabled
- a pensioner premium
- an enhanced or severe disability premium
- receive the disability or severe disability part of Child Tax Credit
To get Cold Weather Payments if you receive Support for Mortgage Interest, you also have to be treated as getting a qualifying benefit that has one of the following elements, where you have:
- a child living with you who’s under five
- a child who’s disabled
- a pensioner premium
- an enhanced or severe disability premium
- receive the disability or severe disability part of Child Tax Credit
If your income is high enough that you aren’t paid the qualifying benefit, you’re still treated as receiving it.
What about Cold Weather Payments for Scotland?
If you live in Scotland, you may get a Winter Heating Payment of £58.75 for winter 2024/25, which doesn’t depend on the temperature reaching a certain level. If you’re eligible, this is a single payment that’s paid between December and February. You must be getting a qualifying benefit such as Pension Credit.
Other schemes to help with energy costs in winter
The Cold Weather Payment isn’t the only scheme that can help with your energy costs if you’re struggling.
This scheme helps to cover energy bills and is available to those receiving benefits or a low income.
If you’re eligible, a one-off discount of £150 will be applied to your electricity bill by the end of March – the money won’t just land in your bank account. You may receive a letter to confirm the discount will be applied, but if not you can check your eligibility on the government’s website.
If you live in England or Wales and currently receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or are on a low income and have high energy costs, you should be eligible for the scheme. You don’t usually need to do anything because the discount should be applied automatically.
If you live in Scotland, unless you get the Guarantee Credit part of Pension Credit, you’ll need to apply for the discount. You may be able to apply if you’re on a low income and your energy supplier is part of the scheme.
The Warm Home Discount isn’t available in Northern Ireland.
If you were born before 23 September 1958 and receive a means-tested benefit such as Pension Credit or Universal Credit, you may be eligible to receive either £200 or £300 in winter 2024/25, depending on your age and whether or not you live alone.
Letters about Winter Fuel Payments go out in October and November confirming the payment will be made automatically. If you don’t receive a letter, you can check the criteria and apply here.
In Scotland, you may be eligible for a similar Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.
The extra Pensioner Cost of Living Payment is no longer available.
Energy suppliers sometimes run their own schemes to help people struggling with their energy bills.
For example, the British Gas Energy Trust offers a grant for both British Gas and non-British Gas customers to help people with energy debt.
Octopus Energy has an Octo Assist scheme that offers struggling customers help, such as direct support with their bills or standing charge holidays.
It’s a good idea to contact your gas and electricity supplier directly to find out what advice and support it can offer you.
» MORE: How to get help with your energy bills
If you’re worried you can’t pay for your heating
If you’re struggling, make sure you speak to your energy supplier. Failing to make payments on time or ignoring letters can create problems in the future. If you’re changing address over the winter, be sure to pay your final bill before you leave so that your debt doesn’t follow you to your new home. If you stop paying without speaking to your supplier, it could use a debt collection agency to try to collect missed payments from you.
Rising energy bills have led to more customers falling behind on their energy payments. If you’re in this situation, you can seek help from charities, such as StepChange or Age UK. The British Red Cross also has a national support line that you can call for practical tips on how to stay warm and to find out about services in your area. You can also explore ways to save energy at home.
Those in receipt of benefits may also consider the Fuel Direct scheme. It offers a way for those in receipt of benefits to repay any debt they’ve accrued to energy providers by deducting what they owe directly from their benefits payments. Fuel Direct can also be used to pay bills by those customers already paying off a debt.
According to Citizens Advice, using Fuel Direct “can be more convenient than having a prepayment meter fitted”. However, using Fuel Direct should be considered a last resort because the deductions are taken directly from your benefit payments. You may run the risk of being short of the cash needed to cover more urgent commitments.
The Warm Welcome Campaign can help connect those struggling to heat their home with over 4,000 warm spaces in venues across the UK, including community centres and cafés, libraries, churches, arts centres, local businesses, and schools. You can search for the nearest Warm Welcome space on the campaign’s website.
Image source: Getty Images
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