The £25 payment goes out to eligible households during each consecutive seven-day period when the weather is, or is forecast to be, below zero. People should receive the money within 14 days of when the payments are triggered.
The payments have been triggered in more than 500 postcodes and it has been triggered twice in 286 postcodes over the past week, meaning people in these areas will receive £50 in total.
People on these benefits are eligible for the Cold Weather Payment, which they should receive automatically:
- Pension Credit
- Universal Credit
- Income Support
- Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Support for Mortgage Interest.
READ MORE: State pension and Universal Credit payments may come early next week – full list
Receiving a payment doesn’t affect any other benefits a person receives. Depending on a person’s circumstances, they may also need to meet one or more of the following additional criteria:
- Have a disability or be in receipt of pension premium
- Have a child who is disabled
- Be in receipt of child tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
- Have a severe or enhanced disability premium
- Be in receipt of a limited capability for work amount
- Have a child under five living with them.
DON’T MISS
The Cold Weather Payment has been replaced in Scotland by the Winter Heating Payment, a one-off payment of £50 regardless of the weather conditions.
The eligibility criteria are otherwise the same, and payments are expected to be made from February 2023.
Anyone who has not received a Cold Weather Payment and believes they should have, can contact their local DWP office or JobCentre for guidance.
If a person is getting Universal Credit, they can also sign into their account and add a note to their journal to say they have yet to receive the funds.