You may get a Cold Weather Payment if you’re getting certain benefits.

The 2013 to 2014 Cold Weather Payment scheme has now ended.

The 2014 to 2015 Cold Weather Payment scheme will start on 1 November 2014. You’ll able to check if your area is due a payment in November 2014.

Payments are made when your local temperature is either recorded as, or forecast to be, an average of zero degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days.

You’ll get a payment of £25 for each 7 day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.

You’ll get £25 for each 7 day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.

After each period of very cold weather in your area, you should get a payment within 14 working days. It’s paid into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments.

Cold Weather Payments don't affect your other benefits.

You may get Cold Weather Payments if you're getting:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Universal Credit

Pension Credit

You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Pension Credit.

Income Support and income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and 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
• a child under 5 living with you

Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)

You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get income-related ESA and have any of the following:

• the support or work-related component of ESA
• 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
• a child under 5 living with you

Universal Credit

You'll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Universal Credit, you’re not employed or self employed and one of the following apply:

• you get a limited capability for work element (with or without a work-related activity element)
• you get the disabled child element in your claim
• you have a child under 5 living with you

You’ll also be eligible if you have a disabled child element in your claim, whether you are employed or not.

You don’t need to apply. If you’re eligible to get a Cold Weather Payment, you'll be paid it automatically.

The 2013 to 2014 Cold Weather Payment scheme has now ended. The 2014 to 2015 Cold Weather Payment scheme will start on 1 November 2014.

You’ll be able to check if your area is due a payment in November 2014.

If you have a child under 5 living with you

If you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance you’ll need to tell Jobcentre Plus if:

• you’ve had a baby
• a child under 5 has come to live with you

Otherwise, you won't automatically receive any Cold Weather Payments you should get.

If you don't receive your Cold Weather Payment

Tell your pension centre or Jobcentre Plus office if you think you should have received a Cold Weather Payment but you haven’t.

Hospital stays

Tell your pension centre or Jobcentre Plus office if you go into hospital - this could affect your payment.

The difference between Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payments

Winter Fuel Payments are:

• yearly one-off payments to help eligible people pay for their heating in the winter
• not linked to temperature

This is different to Cold Weather Payments which are paid for each 7-day period of very cold weather in your area.