Households across Wales claiming specific benefits could receive £25 Cold Weather Payments for each seven-day period of freezing temperatures between November 1 2026 and March 31 2027. The payments are made automatically to eligible people in Wales and England, with no application needed.
Who qualifies for the payments
You may get Cold Weather Payments if you receive Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit, or Support for Mortgage Interest. The payments do not affect your other benefits.
For income-related ESA, you will usually qualify if you are in a work-related activity group or support group. You might also qualify if you have a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under five living with you.
Universal Credit and Support for Mortgage Interest rules
With Universal Credit, you will usually get payments if you and your partner are not employed, or if one of the following applies: you or your partner have a health condition or disability and limited capability for work, or you have a child under five living with you. Eligibility also applies if you have a disabled child amount in your claim, regardless of employment status.
For Support for Mortgage Interest, you must be treated as getting a qualifying benefit and meet one of the same conditions: a severe or enhanced disability premium, a pensioner premium, a disabled child, or a child under five living with you.
When and how payments are made
Payments are triggered when the average temperature in your postcode area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below over seven consecutive days. Each qualifying week-long period earns a £25 payment, which is paid directly into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments within 14 days of the cold weather period.
