Households where people receive certain DWP benefits and meet specific eligibility rules will be sent additional cash to help with their heating or other essential costs during the ongoing cold spell. The Department for Work and Pensions hands out Cold Weather Payments every winter between the start of November and the end of March.
The scheme pays people £25 for each seven-day period when the average temperature in an area is recorded as zero degrees Celsius or forecast to be so. Temperature readings and forecasts are taken from the nearest Met Office weather station which, here in the Birmingham area, is at Coleshill.
The Government also runs other winter support schemes for those on low incomes. These include the £300 Winter Fuel Payment, which is now restricted to people in pensioner households who are on means-tested benefits, and the Warm Home Discount of £150 for low-income benefit recipients whose home is calculated to have high energy costs.
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Several members of BirminghamLive’s Cost of Living UK Facebook group have been enquiring about the Cold Weather Payment and how it works. The first thing to note is that only six means-tested benefits qualify for the scheme and, even then, there are specific conditions that apply.
So, for instance, not everyone on Universal Credit will be in line for the payment. The exact eligibility criteria are as follows:
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Pension Credit – everyone receiving this income top-up benefit should usually qualify for the payment
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Income Support – if you have any 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
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Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance – if you have any 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
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Income-related Employment and Support Allowance – if you have any 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
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Universal Credit – if you’re not employed or “gainfully” self-employed and your partner is not employed or “gainfully” self-employed. You or your partner must also have a health condition or disability with limited capability for work, or have a child under five living with you. You will also be eligible if you have a disabled child in your benefit claim. The limited capability for work rule means those in the LCW and LCWRA incapacity groups should qualify.
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Support for Mortgage Interest – if you have any of the following: 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
There are other rules to bear in mind. Cold Weather Payments are decided automatically and you don’t need to apply but if you believe you should have had one, you can ask the DWP to look into it. The cash goes into the same account as your benefits within 14 days and will not be regarded as income so it won’t affect the amount of any means-tested benefits you receive.
Two Cold Weather Payments have now been triggered in 18 postcode districts, totalling £50, due to the freezing temperatures. These are in the Scottish village of Eskdalemuir and the English towns of Redesdale (Northumberland) and Shap (Cumbria). They include DG14, TD9, CA9, NE19, NE47, NE48, NE49, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA16, CA17, LA8, LA9, LA10, LA21, LA22, and LA23.
Another eight eligible postcodes in Northern Ireland are set to receive one payment, worth £25. These are BT24, BT25, BT26, BT30, BT31, BT32, BT33 and BT34. Last winter, eligible households in almost 500 postcodes received payments worth up to £75.
Although Scotland has replaced the Cold Weather Payment with its own Winter Heating Payment, which is handed out regardless of the temperature, certain areas of the Scottish Borders that fall within England despite having a Scottish postcode are still eligible for a Cold Weather Payment.
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