Households across the country could be owed up to £50 due to the recent wave of cold weather conditions. Households claiming specific benefits receive additional funds during periods of cold weather to help cover heating bills. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) operates its Cold Weather Payment scheme annually from November to March.
Whenever the temperature falls below 0C for seven consecutive days, eligible households in the affected postcodes will receive a one-off £25 payment. However, some households could be eligible for two consecutive Cold Weather Payments, resulting in a £50 payout.
The first Cold Weather Payments of the year have now been activated after parts of the UK experienced a drop in temperatures. These payments are triggered if temperatures are either recorded or forecasted to be 0C or below for an entire week. According to the DWP, 18 postcode areas in England are due payments for the period from January 2 to January 9.
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Which benefits are eligible for the Cold Weather Payment
Claiming a variety of benefits could make you eligible for the Cold Weather Payment. These include:
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Universal Credit
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Income support
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Income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA)
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Income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)
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Pension Credit
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Support for mortgage interest
You must also live in England, Wales, or Nothern Ireland. This is because residenst in Scotland do not qualify for Cold Weather Payments. Despite earning some of these benefits, there are further criteria that may need to be met, full details of which can be found on GOV.UK here.
How to check if you’re owed a Cold Weather Payment
To find out if your postcode is due a payment, you can use the DWP’s postcode checker on GOV.UK. We also have a comprehensive list of all the postcode areas due a payment for January.
Areas due a payment include some in Cumbria and Northumberland. Scottish postcodes are not included in the Cold Weather Payment scheme, however, some areas of the Scottish Borders which are technically in England despite having a Scottish postcode are eligible for payments.