Cold Weather Payments, USA News (Manchester, UK source): The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is launching its annual Cold Weather Payments scheme from November 1, 2026, which means that the government could soon start handing out £25 payments to households on certain benefits over winter.
The Cold Weather Payment scheme means that if the average temperature in your area is recorded as – or is forecast to be – 0C or below for seven consecutive days, you might receive a payment of £25. The £25 payment will be sent for every seven-day period of freezing weather between November 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027. If you are eligible for Cold Weather Payments, you do not need to apply, as you will be paid automatically by the DWP. After each period of very cold weather in your area, you should get a payment within 14 working days, paid into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments.
These payments are different to the Winter Fuel Payment, which is an annual, tax-free government grant of between £100 and £300 for people over state pension age to help cover heating costs. It also follows an Autumn Budget announcement that all UK households in council tax bands A to D will receive a one-off £100 payment in January 2027 to help with rising energy bills. For England and Wales, a £25 payment is triggered whenever an area is forecast to record average temperatures of or below 0C on seven consecutive days.
Qualifying Benefits and Rules
The £25 payments are made to people in England and Wales who receive a range of benefits, though the scheme is not available to households in Scotland. Cold Weather Payments are linked to postcode areas, using the weather station closest to where you live to decide when a payment is triggered.
There are four qualifying benefits for Cold Weather Payments:
- Pension Credit
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit
- Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI)
Some benefits have additional eligibility requirements. For income-related ESA, recipients are usually covered if they are in a work-related activity group or support group, or if they have a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 living with them.
For Universal Credit, recipients generally qualify if neither they nor their partner are employed or gainfully self-employed, and either have a health condition or disability with limited capability for work, have a child under 5, or have a disabled child amount in their claim. For Support for Mortgage Interest, recipients are usually treated as getting a qualifying benefit if specific disability, pensioner, or childcare conditions apply, or if they applied for it but do not receive it because their income is too high.
Eligible residents can use the government website’s postcode checker to find out whether they are owed money from the scheme. Households may receive more than one payment over the duration of the winter if the freezing threshold is met on multiple occasions.
