What are cold weather payments and who can get them?
Summary
Cold weather payments are financial help from the UK government to assist with fuel costs during prolonged periods of cold weather. These payments automatically go to people in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland who receive certain benefits. Scotland offers a different payment not based on temperature.Key Facts
- Cold weather payments are triggered in certain UK areas when the temperature stays at or below 0°C for seven consecutive days.
- To get the payment, recipients must already receive specific benefits like pension credit or universal credit.
- Each payment is £25 for each cold weather period and covers a seven-day stretch.
- The payments are made automatically and do not change other benefits.
- The payment period runs from November 1 to March 31.
- In Scotland, there's a separate winter heating payment of £59.75 that doesn't depend on the weather.
- More than 1.4 million payments, totaling £35 million, were issued last winter.
- Hospital stays and changes in family circumstances can alter payment eligibility.
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