When the weather turns very cold, heating your home costs more, which is hard on a tight budget. There is help available, including the Cold Weather Payment and, in Scotland, a fixed Winter Heating Payment. This guide explains the help with heating costs during cold weather, who qualifies, how it is paid, and the other support available to keep your home warm in winter.
What the Cold Weather Payment is
The Cold Weather Payment is £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather between the start of November and the end of March. It is triggered when the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees or below for seven days in a row. It is meant to help with the extra heating costs during a genuinely cold spell, and you can get more than one payment in a winter if there are several cold periods.
Who qualifies
You qualify for the Cold Weather Payment if you receive certain benefits and a cold spell is triggered in your area. The qualifying benefits include Pension Credit, Universal Credit in certain circumstances, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, and Support for Mortgage Interest. Whether you qualify on Universal Credit can depend on your circumstances, such as having a health element, a child, or a disabled child, so it is worth checking.
How it is paid
You do not need to apply for the Cold Weather Payment. It is paid automatically, based on your benefits and the weather recorded for your postcode, and it goes into the same account as your benefit, usually within a couple of weeks of a cold spell. Because it is automatic, the main thing to do is make sure you are receiving a qualifying benefit, as that is what triggers the payment when the weather is cold enough.
Scotland's Winter Heating Payment
The Cold Weather Payment does not apply in Scotland. Instead, people in Scotland on a low income may receive the Winter Heating Payment, a fixed annual amount, worth £59.75, paid regardless of how cold it actually gets. This gives a guaranteed payment each winter rather than one that depends on the weather. If you live in Scotland and receive a qualifying benefit, you should receive this automatically, so check that your benefits are in order.
Pension age help in Scotland
Older people in Scotland are helped through the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, which has replaced the Winter Fuel Payment there. It is a yearly payment to help pensioners with heating, subject to an income limit, and it is separate from the low-income Winter Heating Payment. If you are of pension age in Scotland, this is the main winter heating help to look out for, and most people receive it automatically.
Other help with heating
Cold weather help does not stop with these payments. Depending on your circumstances, you may also get the Winter Fuel Payment if you are over State Pension age, the Warm Home Discount off your electricity bill, and help from your council's hardship fund. Your energy supplier may also have a hardship fund or be able to help if you are struggling, and there are schemes that fund insulation and heating improvements to make your home cheaper to heat.
Staying warm and well
Keeping warm in winter matters for your health, especially for older people, young children and those with health conditions. As well as claiming the financial help available, simple steps such as heating the rooms you use, keeping them at a safe temperature, and getting your home insulated where possible can help. If you are worried about affording to keep warm, get advice early, as there is help to make sure you do not have to go cold.
Check the cold weather in your area
Because the Cold Weather Payment depends on the temperature recorded for your postcode, you can check during a cold spell whether a payment has been triggered in your area using the official postcode checker. This is useful if you are expecting a payment after a cold period and want to know whether your area qualified. If you think you should have received a payment but have not, it is worth raising it, as occasionally a payment is missed.
Insulation and energy efficiency schemes
One of the best long-term ways to cut winter heating costs is to make your home more energy efficient, and there are schemes that can help fund insulation and heating improvements for people on a low income or in certain homes. Loft and cavity wall insulation, and a more efficient heating system, can reduce your bills year after year. It is worth checking whether you qualify for help with these, as the savings continue long after the work is done.
Disabled children in Scotland
Scotland also has a separate payment, the Child Winter Heating Payment, for families with a severely disabled child, to help with the extra heating costs that often come with a child's disability. It is paid automatically to eligible families and is separate from the other winter payments. Many people are unaware of it, so if you have a disabled child in Scotland, it is worth checking whether your child qualifies for this additional support.
It does not affect your other benefits
Like other winter heating help, the Cold Weather Payment and the Scottish Winter Heating Payment do not count as income for your benefits, so receiving them will not reduce your Universal Credit, Pension Credit or anything else. They are simply extra help with your heating costs when you need it most. This means there is no reason to worry about a knock-on effect, and the payments are purely a help to your household over the winter.
Make sure your benefits are in order
Because all of this winter help depends on receiving a qualifying benefit, the single most useful thing you can do is make sure you are claiming everything you are entitled to. In particular, pensioners who are missing out on Pension Credit lose not only that benefit but the winter help it would unlock. A benefits check before winter can therefore make sure you are in line for all the cold weather support available to you.
In short
The Cold Weather Payment is £25 for each seven-day cold spell in England and Wales for people on qualifying benefits, paid automatically. Scotland has a fixed Winter Heating Payment of £59.75 instead, and a separate payment for pensioners. Alongside these, look at the Winter Fuel Payment, the Warm Home Discount and council and supplier help to keep your home warm.
Plan ahead for winter
The best approach to winter heating costs is to plan before the cold arrives: check you are getting all the benefits and winter payments you are entitled to, look into insulation help, and speak to your energy supplier if you are worried about bills. Tackling it early gives you more options and more time than waiting until you are in difficulty mid-winter. A little preparation in the autumn can make the colder months far less stressful.
Where to get help
Citizens Advice and your energy supplier can help with heating costs. See our guides to the Warm Home Discount and the Winter Fuel Payment for more winter help.