The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has significantly increased its financial support for thousands of vulnerable households battling freezing conditions, it has been confirmed.
Double the Standard Support
Around 6,000 households living across 18 specific postcodes have now received a £50 payment from the government's Cold Weather Payment scheme. This amount is double the standard £25 payment typically issued.
The enhanced support comes as a 'snow bomb' has hit parts of the UK, bringing prolonged periods of sub-zero temperatures. The DWP scheme is designed to help people on certain benefits with extra heating costs when the weather turns exceptionally cold.
How the Cold Weather Payment Scheme Works
The government triggers a £25 payment for eligible residents in any area where the average temperature is recorded as zero degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days. Crucially, a separate payment can be issued for each seven-day period of qualifying cold weather.
Payments are made per household, not per person. This means only one payment is made to an address, even if several qualifying individuals live there. The scheme is active for the winter period from 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2026.
Recent DWP data reveals the scale of support already provided this winter. From 1 November to 2 January, a total of 673,000 cold weather payments were made across more than 4 million eligible households nationwide.
The area with the highest number of potential recipients was near the Heathrow weather station, where 644,000 households were eligible. Of these, fewer than 200,000 were eligible through Pension Credit.
Postcodes Receiving the £50 Payment
The DWP has confirmed that nearly 700 postcodes have qualified for at least one payment since 1 November. The 18 postcodes that have received the doubled £50 amount are those that have experienced two qualifying cold weather periods. These include:
- CA9: Alston
- CA10: Penrith
- CA11: Penrith
- CA12: Keswick
- CA16: Appleby-in-Westmorland
- CA17: Kirkby Stephen
- DG14: Annan
- LA8: Kendal
- LA9: Kendal
- LA10: Sedbergh
- LA21: Grange-over-Sands
- LA22: Ambleside
- LA23: Windermere
- NE19: Wooler
- NE47: Hexham
- NE48: Bardon Mill
- NE49: Haltwhistle
- TD9: Hawick
Hundreds of other postcodes across England, Wales, and Scotland have qualified for a single £25 payment. The extensive list includes areas from St Albans (AL postcodes) and Bradford (BD) to Colchester (CO), Ipswich (IP), Norwich (NR), and many more.
Eligibility for the payment is automatic for people receiving 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. Payments should be made directly into the same bank account used for benefit payments.
This vital support underscores the government's mechanism to assist those on low incomes during the harshest winter weather, providing crucial help with energy bills when temperatures plummet.
