The first Cold Weather Payments of 2025 have been triggered in 18 areas of England.
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) pays £25 to eligible households on certain benefits when temperatures drop during the colder months between November and March. Payments are triggered when the temperature is recorded as or forecast to be 0C or below for seven consecutive days.
Temperatures have plummeted since the start of the new year as the UK endures a cold snap, with snow forecast across much of the country this weekend. And now, the first Cold Weather Payments of the year have been triggered, with 18 postcode areas in the north of England eligible for a £25 payment.
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The areas set to receive a payment are all in Cumbria, Northumberland or along the Scottish border. You can see the full list of eligible postcodes below.
The payments are made automatically into a recipient’s bank account and will land in accounts within 14 days of the payment being triggered.
The DWP explains: “DWP’s Cold Weather Payments are an automatic bank top-up of £25, triggered to be paid to eligible households when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to an eligible person’s postcode.
“The £25 payments will be paid automatically to households receiving certain benefits including, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit and Support for Mortgage Interest.
“The money will appear in bank statements within 14 days of each seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2024 and 31 March 2025, with the payment reference starting with the customer’s national Insurance number followed by ‘DWP CWP’ for people in England and Wales.”
Full list of postcode areas getting a DWP Cold Weather Payment for January 2 to 9:
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Eskdalemuir: DG14, TD9
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Resdale: CA9, NE19, NE47, NE48, NE49
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Shap: CA10, CA11, CA12, CA16, CA17, LA8, LA9, LA10, LA21, LA22, LA23
Further Cold Weather Payments will likely be triggered in the coming days as colder temperatures persist. Brits are being warned to prepare for snow and dangerous icy conditions this weekend as the cold snap continues.
Large parts of the country will face disruption from heavy snow and freezing rain as two amber weather warnings come into force on Saturday. Stranded vehicles on the roads, delayed or cancelled rail and air travel and power cuts are all likely as the UK grapples with a week-long spell of wintry conditions, the Met Office said.
Rostherne in Cheshire and Yeovilton in Somerset saw temperatures drop to -5C overnight into Friday, according to the latest recordings, while temperatures of -10C could be seen in parts of rural Scotland on Friday night, according to new Met Office forecasts.
The coldest temperature recorded in January last year was -14C, in Dalwhinnie in the Highlands.