DWP paying out five payments worth £784 to help UK households through winter

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has five cold weather payments and bonus benefits worth £784 this autumn and winter amid the Cost of Living crisis.

Energy help available to households has been revealed ahead of the colder months. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has five cold weather payments and bonus benefits worth £784 this autumn and winter amid the Cost of Living crisis.

The Warm Home Discount is worth £150 for those who receive certain means-tested benefits and is aailable for people in Scotland, England and Wales. The Winter Heating Payment is worth £58.75 for low-income households on certain means-tested benefits and is available for people in Scotland only.

Child Winter Heating Payment - £251.50 - is for children under-19 who receive certain disability benefits and is available for young people in Scotland only. The Winter Fuel Payment - £200 or £300 - is for people over State Pension age receiving means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit.

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The Cold Weather Payment - £25 per seven day cold weather spell - is for people who receive Pension Credit and don't live in a care home, those on certain benefits and is available for people England and Wales only. It comes as it emerged one in 10 homes (11%) with a household income of less than £20,000 a year already owe money to their energy supplier ahead of winter, with those in debt owing £163 on average, the study by Uswitch found.

The energy direct debit system broadly works by customers building up credit during the less expensive summer months in preparation for spending more on gas and electricity over the winter. The survey found a more positive picture nationwide, with just 8% of households – or 2.4 million – in debt on their energy account going into winter, down from more than 11% or 3.2 million last year.

Richard Neudegg, director of regulation at Uswitch, said: “Households use more energy over the winter, so for the majority paying via direct debit it’s ideal to have a cushion of about two months’ worth of energy credit at this point in the year.

“It’s worrying that five million of the lowest-income households are going into winter with no buffer against higher bills. If your energy account is going into debt or you are behind on your bill payments, speak to your supplier as soon as possible.”