Thousands of homes across the UK are set to receive funds following a prolonged period of cold weather. The Cold Weather Payments scheme entitles eligible households to £25 for every seven consecutive days their area experiences zero degrees Celsius or below.
Since the scheme opened on November 1, several postcodes have been triggered, making 10,000 households eligible for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) payment. It can take up to two weeks for the payment to land in your account, which should be automatic.
Those who believe they are due Cold Weather Payments are advised to use the Government’s postcode checker before contacting the Pension Service, Jobcentre Plus or Universal Credit helpline. Due to the two-week delay, those triggered in the season’s first cold snap become eligible for the payment on November 17 but may only receive it next week.
The Mirror reports that around 10,000 households are eligible this winter based on the following triggered postcodes:
- LA22 Lakes, Cumbria
- DG14 (parts on English side of border)
- CA11 Catterlen, Cumbria
- LA23 Windermere, Cumbria
- NE48 Bellingham, Northumberland
- CA16 Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria
- NE19 Elsdon, Northumberland
- CA17 Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria
- LA10 Sedbergh, Cumbria
- LA8 Kendal, Cumbria
- CA10 Cliburn, Cumbria
- NE47 Allendale, Northumberland
- NE49 Haltwhistle, Northumberland
- TD9 (parts on English side of border)
- LA9 Kendal, Cumbria
- CA12 Keswick, Cumbria
- LA21 Coniston, Cumbria
- CA9 Leadgate, Cumbria
The £25 payments are designed to help cover heating costs in extreme weather. Eligibility is dependent on claiming certain benefits. These include:
- Universal Credit
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- Support for Mortgage Interest
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
Some circumstances can also make you eligible, such as having a baby or a child under the age of 5 come to live with you while claiming Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance. In these cases, the payments won’t be automatic so you’ll need to inform Jobcentre Plus in order to claim it, reports Teesside Live.