Cold Weather Payments, USA News (Manchester, UK): 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, 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. It is paid into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments.
The Cold Weather 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 throughout the colder months. It comes after the Government announced in the Autumn Budget that all UK households in council tax bands A to D will receive a one-off £100 payment in January 2027 to help them with the rising cost of 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. The £25 payments are made to people in England and Wales who receive a range of benefits including Pension Credit and Income Support. The payments are not available to households in Scotland.
Cold Weather Payments are linked to postcode areas, with the weather station closest to where you live used to decide when a payment is triggered. There are four qualifying benefits for Cold Weather Payments, with some having additional eligibility requirements:
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit
- Support Mortgage Interest (SMI)
- Pension Credit or Income Support
You will usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get income-related ESA and are in a work-related activity group or support group. If you are not in either group, you might also get Cold Weather Payments if you have certain additional criteria. You will also usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Universal Credit under specific conditions, including having a disabled child amount in your claim. It does not matter whether you or your partner are employed, self-employed or not working.
You will usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get SMI and you are treated as getting a qualifying benefit. You are usually treated as getting a qualifying benefit if you apply for it but do not receive it because your income is too high.
Payments should be made automatically within two weeks of the period of cold weather that triggers a payment. The money will be paid into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments. You may get more than one payment over the duration of the scheme if the threshold is met on multiple occasions. The government website has a postcode checker which you can use to find out whether you are owed money from the Cold Weather Payment scheme.
