How the Cold Weather Payment works
The Cold Weather Payment is run by the DWP in England and Wales (and credited automatically to qualifying people in Northern Ireland too). It exists to help with heating costs during a genuine cold snap.
The rules in plain English
- £25 is paid for each 7-day period of very cold weather.
- A period is triggered when the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below for 7 consecutive days, measured at your nearest linked weather station.
- It only runs between 1 November and 31 March.
- If there are several cold spells in the same winter, you can get £25 for each one.
- You don't apply — it's paid automatically into the same account as your benefit, usually within 14 working days of the cold spell.
Because it's tied to the temperature at a specific weather station, it's possible for one town to get a payment while a town a few miles away — linked to a different station — does not. That's normal, and it's why GOV.UK provides a postcode checker.
Who qualifies
You may get Cold Weather Payments if you're getting one of these benefits:
| Benefit | The extra condition (if any) |
|---|
| Pension Credit | Usually qualifies automatically |
| Income Support | Plus a disability or pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 |
| Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance | Plus a disability or pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 |
| Income-related ESA | In a work-related activity or support group — or with a severe/enhanced disability or pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 |
| Universal Credit | You (and any partner) not in work or gainfully self-employed, and limited capability for work, a disabled child amount, or a child under 5 |
| Support for Mortgage Interest | Treated as on a qualifying benefit, with a disability/pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 |
The "child under 5" and disability conditions matter
For most of these benefits, simply receiving the benefit isn't enough — you usually also need a disability or pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under 5 living with you. Pension Credit is the main exception: people on it usually qualify automatically. If a new baby arrives or a child under 5 moves in, tell the DWP — it can make you newly eligible.
Check your area — and what to do
The payment is automatic, so for most people there's nothing to do. But two things are worth doing:
Check + what to do
- Check your area on GOV.UK. The free GOV.UK Cold Weather Payment checker tells you, by postcode, whether a cold spell has been triggered at your nearest weather station this winter.
- Make sure you're actually getting the qualifying benefit. The payment only reaches you if you're on one of the benefits above. If you might be entitled to Pension Credit or Universal Credit and aren't claiming, sorting that out unlocks the Cold Weather Payment too — and a lot more besides.
- Report a missing payment. If a payment was triggered for your area and you're on a qualifying benefit but it hasn't arrived, contact your pension centre or Jobcentre Plus, or report it through your Universal Credit journal.
Getting a Cold Weather Payment does not reduce any of your other benefits.
Not sure what your household qualifies for? Check my benefits runs a quick scan, and What am I missing? looks for money you may be owed across the board.
Scotland: it's been replaced
If you live in Scotland, the Cold Weather Payment no longer exists for you — so don't go looking for it.
Scotland = Winter Heating Payment
In Scotland the Cold Weather Payment has been replaced by the Winter Heating Payment from Social Security Scotland. It's a single guaranteed lump sum — £62.00 for winter 2025/26 — paid automatically between December and the end of February to people on certain qualifying benefits.
Crucially, it does not depend on the weather: you get it whether or not there's a cold spell, so it's more reliable than the temperature-triggered DWP scheme. It appears as "WHP" on your bank statement.
Check eligibility and details on mygov.scot/winter-heating-payment. (Scottish pensioners may instead get the separate Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.)
Don't confuse it with other winter help
Three different schemes get muddled up every winter. They're separate, and you may qualify for more than one:
- Cold Weather Payment (this page) — £25 per cold spell, only when it's actually freezing, for people on certain means-tested benefits in England & Wales.
- Winter Fuel Payment — a different scheme aimed at older people to help with winter heating costs (eligibility rules apply). It's not weather-triggered.
- Warm Home Discount — £150 off your electricity bill over winter for those on a low income or certain benefits. In England & Wales most qualifying households are identified automatically.
For the wider picture — payment plans, hardship grants, the Priority Services Register and more — see our help with energy bills guide.