Cold weather payments: who qualifies and how much can they receive?

Cold weather payments of £25 are available to eligible households in England, Wales and Northern Ireland when local temperatures stay at or below freezing for seven days in a row. The scheme runs from 1 November to 31 March, helping people on certain benefits with heating costs during prolonged cold spells.

The average temperature must be recorded or forecast to be 0C or below for seven consecutive days. Eligibility is based on the weather station serving a person’s postcode; online checkers are available for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland.

To qualify, people must already receive certain benefits, including Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit or Support for Mortgage Interest. Some Universal Credit claimants are excluded.

Each qualifying cold spell brings a £25 payment, and households can receive more than one during the winter if further qualifying periods occur. Payments are made automatically into the same bank or building society account as the person’s benefits, usually within two weeks of the cold spell. The payment does not affect other benefits.

People should tell the Pension Service or Jobcentre Plus if they become an inpatient in hospital, have a baby, or a child under five comes to live with them, as these circumstances can affect entitlement.

Scotland has a separate Winter Heating Payment, worth £62 and paid automatically between December and February. Unlike cold weather payments elsewhere in the UK, it does not depend on temperatures falling below freezing.

Cold weather payments are also separate from the Winter Fuel Payment, which is worth £100 or £300 depending on individual circumstances. More than 1.4 million cold weather payments were made in winter 2025-26.