Thousands more households are receiving special £25 cost of living payments after temperatures were judged to be cold enough to trigger the support. The Government pays out cash to vulnerable and low-income households during particularly cold spells of weather.
And the cold snap over the last couple of weeks has been enough to trigger further payments worth £25 a week. Cash is not paid out to everyone but to local areas based on recordings at regional weather stations. The new list of published postcodes includes towns and cities in the West Midlands.
The freezing spell of weather saw temperatures plummet to nearly -20C in worst hit areas, as some places recorded lowest January temperatures for years. Milder conditions over the last couple of days mean the window for further payments at the moment is likely closing.
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The payments have been confirmed in over 500 postcode areas. Some places have been so cold residents have received two payments totalling £50. Around 950,000 households will get money because residents are in receipt of relevant benefits and are most likely to be struggling to keep their properties warm, prompting health fears.
In the West Midlands, support has been confirmed for parts of Staffordshire including Stafford, Penkridge, Uttoxeter and Stoke-on-Trent. They were triggered over the weekend and into Monday, on the last days of the cold snap.
Other areas where people have received cash include Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Yorkshire and further south into Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.
Postcodes
Keele weather station (49,000 households)CW1 – Crewe, Cheshire EastCW2 – Crewe, Cheshire EastCW3 – Bridgemere, Cheshire EastCW5 – Nantwich, Cheshire EastCW12 – Congleton, Cheshire EastST1 – Stoke-on-TrentST2 – Stoke-on-TrentST3 – Stoke-on-TrentST4 – Stoke-on-TrentST5 – Newcastle-under-Lyme, StaffordshireST6 – Stoke-on-TrentST7 – Kidsgrove, StaffordshireST12 – Barlaston, StaffordshireST14 – Uttoxeter, StaffordshireST15 – Stone, StaffordshireST16 – Stafford, StaffordshireST17 – Stafford, StaffordshireST18 – Hopton, StaffordshireST19 – Penkridge, StaffordshireST20 – Gnosall, StaffordshireST21 – Eccleshall, StaffordshireSK10 – Macclesfield, Cheshire EastSK11 – Macclesfield, Cheshire East
Carlisle weather station – payments to 10,000 households in 9 postcode areas: CA1 – Carlisle, Cumbria CA2 – Carlisle, Cumbria CA3 – Carlisle, Cumbria CA4 – Wetheral, Cumbria CA5 – Orton, Cumbria CA6 – Kirklinton, Cumbria CA7 – Waverton, Cumbria CA8 – Brampton, Cumbria DG16 – Gretna border (parts in England)