DWP will send £25 one-off payments to eligible households over winter

Millions of people could be in line for payments worth £25 to help pay their heating bill this winter.

From tomorrow, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will send a £25 Cold Weather Payment to eligible households each time the temperature drops below zero for seven consecutive days. The scheme runs from November 1 til March 31 each year and it is aimed at helping those most vulnerable to stay warm during the cold weather.

Last year, more than 1.18 million payments were made to eligible households over the duration of the scheme, with some areas of Cumbria receiving a total of £75 over the winter months after the threshold was met on three separate occasions. A handful of postcode areas in Oldham and Rochdale in Greater Manchester received two payments.

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Just under half of last year's payments (586,000) were made in November, while the majority of the rest (578,000) were paid in January. Around 18,000 payments were triggered in December while the slightly warmer months of February and March did not see any payments made.

This year, millions of people will be eligible for the payments again. According to the DWP, there are around 3.9 million households in England and Wales eligible for the payments.

People who claim benefits including Pension Credit and Universal Credit are among those who may be eligible for the payments, which are paid automatically into a claimant's bank account each time the threshold is met.

Here's what you need to know about Cold Weather Payments, who is eligible for them, how much they are worth and how they are paid.

Who is eligible for DWP Cold Weather Payments?

Eligibility for Cold Weather Payments is based on which benefits you claim. You may be eligible for Cold Weather Payments if you claim one of the following benefits:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) - you also need to have one of the following: a disability or pensioner premium, a child who is disabled, Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element, or a child under five living with you
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) - you also need to be in a work-related activity group or support group, or have one of the following: a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a child who is disabled, Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element, or a child under five living with you
• Universal Credit - you also need to be unemployed and either have a disability or a child under five living with you
• Support for Mortgage Interest

Full eligibility criteria is available on the government website here.

Claimants in Scotland are not eligible for Cold Weather Payments but they may get an annual Winter Heating payment.

When are DWP Cold Weather Payments triggered?

If you’re eligible to get Cold Weather Payments, you’ll get £25 for each seven day period of very cold weather - which is when it is recorded or forecast to be zero or below - between November 1 and March 31.

The payments are based on postcode areas, with each one linked to one of 72 weather stations across England and Wales. The Met Office measures the daily average temperature at each of these weather stations and informs the DWP when the threshold has been met.

The threshold may be met several times over the winter months, meaning some postcode areas may get multiple payments.

How are DWP Cold Weather Payments made?

When a payment is triggered, it will be paid automatically into the same bank account you get your benefit payments paid into.

The £25 payment should arrive in your account within 14 working days of when the payment is triggered.

The gov.uk website has a Cold Weather Payment postcode checker, which will tell you how many payments have been triggered in your postcode area, which will be available on the government website from November 1.