Households across Wales could be eligible for £25 payments from next month
The temperature has taken a sudden dip with Wales finally feeling like autumn with storm warnings already set for this week. With the return of winter many households will be thinking about how they are going to afford to heat their bills in the coming months.
To help with the cost of heating your home, households across Wales could be eligible for £25 payments as the weather gets colder. These payments are made to individuals who claim specific benefits or receive Support for Mortgage Interest.
Eligible people will then receive £25 for each seven-day period of cold weather from the start of November to the end of March. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here.
Who is eligible?
The payments will be awarded automatically for eligible people in Wales and England, without the need to apply. You may get Cold Weather payments if you’re receiving:
- Pension Credit
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Universal Credit
- Support for Mortgage Interest
The payments do not affect your other benefits.
You’ll usually get Cold Weather payments if you get income-related ESA and are in a work-related activity group or support group. If you’re not in either group, you might also get Cold Weather payments if you have:
- a severe or enhanced disability premium
- a pensioner premium
- a child who is disabled
- a child under five-years-old living with you
You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Universal Credit and you are not employed and your partner is not employed or, if you have a partner. One of the following must also apply:
- you or your partner have a health condition or disability and have limited capability for work (with or without work-related activity)
- you have a child under five living with you
You’ll also be eligible if you have a disabled child amount in your claim. It does not matter whether you or your partner are employed, self-employed or not working.
You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) and you’re treated as getting a qualifying benefit where one of the following applies:
- a severe or enhanced disability premium
- a pensioner premium
- you have a child who is disabled
- you have a child under 5 living with you
When
To receive a Cold Weather payment if the average temperature in your area, based on your postcode, is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0 °C or below over seven consecutive days. From November 1 2026 to March 31 2027, eligible households will receive a £25 payment for each week long period of cold weather.
The payment is paid directly into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments withing 14 days of the cold weather period.
