Cold Weather Payment 2026-27: £25 for each very cold week

Eligible claimants will get £25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2026 and 31 March 2027, GOV.UK says.

An area qualifies when its average temperature is recorded as, or forecast to be, “zero degrees celsius or below over 7 consecutive days”. Payments are automatic for people who are eligible, and they do not affect other benefits.

After each cold spell, a payment should arrive “within 14 working days”, paid into the same bank or building society account as the claimant’s benefit payments. The scheme window covers 151 days, so an area can qualify more than once: three qualifying periods would add up to £75.

Who usually qualifies

Payments can go to people who get one of four benefits:

• Pension Credit, where claimants usually get a payment
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), usually for claimants in a work-related activity group or support group; claimants in neither group might also qualify with a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a disabled child or a child under 5 in the household
• Universal Credit, usually if neither the claimant nor a partner is employed or ‘gainfully self-employed’ and either has a health condition or disability with limited capability for work (with or without work-related activity), or a child under 5 lives with the claimant; a disabled child amount in the claim also qualifies, whatever the work status
• Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI), usually if the claimant is treated as getting a qualifying benefit and has a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a disabled child or a child under 5 in the household

Claimants of Universal Credit or income-related ESA must report a change if they have had a baby, or a child under 5 has come to live with them. Universal Credit claimants use the online account, or phone the helpline if there is no account; ESA claimants tell Jobcentre Plus. A claimant who does not report it “will not automatically get Cold Weather Payments”.

Scotland and postcode checks

People in Scotland “cannot get Cold Weather Payments” but might get an annual Winter Heating Payment instead, paid regardless of weather conditions. For postcode checks, GOV.UK points to one checker for England and Wales and another for Northern Ireland.

If a payment does not arrive

A claimant who thinks a payment is missing should tell the Pension Service or Jobcentre Plus. Universal Credit claimants add a note to the online journal, or ring the helpline if there is no account. A hospital stay should also be reported, because it could affect the payment.

The 2025-26 scheme has ended, and the guidance says areas can be checked for a payment “in November 2026”.