Cold Weather Payment

The Cold Weather Payment is financial aid you can receive from the government and paid toward your energy bill during particularly cold snaps.

This payment is designed for people on certain benefits such as Universal or Pension Credit.

How much will I receive?

If eligible, you will receive a Cold Weather Payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below over 7 days in a row.

£25 was paid for each 7 day period of very cold weather between November 2023 and March 2024.

The 2024 to 2025 Cold Weather Payment scheme will start on 1 November 2024.

Is this scheme available in Scotland?

Unfortunately, no. However, the Scottish Government runs a similar scheme, titled the Winter Heating Payment.

This is a one-time payment paid out to those receiving qualifying benefits.

For the 2023/2024 period, the payment amount was £55.05.

Eligibility

To receive the Cold Weather Payment, first, you need to receive one of the benefits below:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit
• Support for Mortgage Interest

The second qualifier is that you must be living in an area that has experienced, or is forecast to experience 7 consecutive days of 0° celsius or below.

You can check the average temperature of where you live by using the Department of Work & Pensions postcode checker.

What do I need to do?

If you’ve had to endure seven days of freezing temperatures and meet the above-mentioned criteria, you don’t need to apply for the Cold Weather Payment.

Instead, you will receive a payment automatically within 14 working days, and into the same bank account you receive your benefits.

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