THOUSANDS of hard-up households are eligible for cold weather payments worth £25 a week this winter.
The payments are being made between today, November 1, and March 31, 2025, to cover energy bills.
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Those on certain benefits are eligible for the payments that are made following bouts of consistently frosty weather.
Households receive £25 for each seven day period where the average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below.
That means if the weather is cold for long enough, you can get payments worth up to £50 or even £75.
The payments are made automatically if you’re eligible and appear in your bank statement within 14 days of the cold snap.
A code in your statement reading “DWP CWP” will tell you its a cold weather payment.
Payments are made into the same bank or building society account you receive your benefits.
Emma Reynolds, minister for pensions, said: “As we head into the winter months, I want to ensure the most vulnerable in our society are getting the support they need, and that’s why we have a range of measures targeted at helping low-income households, such as Cold Weather Payments.”
Who is eligible?
You usually qualify for a cold weather payment if you are on one of the following benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Income Support
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit
- Support for Mortgage Interest
In some cases, there is other eligibility criteria you must fulfil to be eligible for the payments.
For example, if you’re on Universal Credit, you only get a payment if you are not in employment or “gainfully self-employed”.
You are classed as gainfully self-employed if being self-employed is your main job, you work regularly and expect to make a profit.
Most eligible people don’t need to apply to get cold weather payments.
However, if you are on Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and have had a baby or have a child under five living with you, you need to tell your local Jobcentre Plus centre.
If you don’t, you won’t receive an automatic payment.
You can check your eligibility for a cold weather payment via https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/eligibility.
If you meet the eligibility criteria for a cold weather payment but don’t get one when you think you should have, contact the Pension Service on 0800 731 0469 or your local Jobcentre Plus.
You can find your local Jobcentre Plus by using the Government’s local office search tool via https://find-your-nearest-jobcentre.dwp.gov.uk/search.php.
Other winter energy bill help
Warm Home Discount
The Warm Home Discount worth £150 has started being paid to eligible households.
The £150 isn’t a direct payment but a one-off deduction on your electricity, and sometimes gas, bill.
The discount is applied between October and March every winter and in most cases you don’t have to apply and will get it automatically.
You are guaranteed to receive the discount if you are on the Guaranteed Credit element of Pension Credit.
You may also qualify if you get a number of other benefits and your property has a “high energy cost score”.
The government assesses your property based on its type, age and size to decipher whether you are eligible.
Household Support Fund
The Household Support Fund is worth £421million in England and has been shared between local councils.
These councils then decide who to distribute money to and how much they will get.
The help on offer varies based on where you live, but usually comes in the form of a cash bank transfer, energy or supermarket vouchers.
You may have to apply for help, or your local authority may actively contact you to tell you you are eligible for support.
Those on benefits, a low income or classed as vulnerable usually qualify for help.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Are you missing out on benefits?
YOU can use a benefits calculator to help check that you are not missing out on money you are entitled to
Charity Turn2Us’ benefits calculator works out what you could get.
Entitledto’s free calculator determines whether you qualify for various benefits, tax credit and Universal Credit.
MoneySavingExpert.com and charity StepChange both have benefits tools powered by Entitledto’s data.
You can use Policy in Practice’s calculator to determine which benefits you could receive and how much cash you’ll have left over each month after paying for housing costs.
Your exact entitlement will only be clear when you make a claim, but calculators can indicate what you might be eligible for.
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