Cold Weather Payments triggered in hundreds of postcodes as Storm Goretti hits the UK: who can get it and when?
Millions of people could be eligible for Cold Weather Payments during the winter. We explain who qualifies and how to check if a payment is due
Storm Goretti has hit the UK with strong winds and heavy snow expected to hit some regions of the country.
The storm comes after Britain was already hit with sub-zero temperatures since the end of 2025, meaning some households have qualified for one or more Cold Weather Payments from the government.
The £25 payment is designed to help low-income and vulnerable households pay for energy bills when temperatures fall, or are expected to fall, to zero or below freezing for a period of time.
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The money will be particularly useful after the energy price cap increased on 1 January 2026, rising to an annual average of £1,758 for the typical household paying for gas and electricity by direct debit.
The Cold Weather Payment scheme runs from 1 November to 31 March. Payments will be triggered if the average temperature in a postcode is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below for seven days in a row.
The 30th of December was the first trigger for the Cold Weather Payment this winter, but as temperatures have remained low, there have since been seven more triggers in a combined total of 802 postcodes.
As the payment is triggered for individual seven-day periods, some postcodes that have experienced two weeks of cold weather will be eligible for two payments, bringing the total to £50.
The payment is separate to the Winter Fuel Payment.
Almost 1.4 million Cold Weather Payments were made in the winter of 2024/25, almost – are you due one this year?
Who is eligible for a Cold Weather Payment?
Cold Weather Payments are a government benefit. The money is intended to help with gas and electricity bills during times of extremely cold weather. About 4.4 million people in England and Wales are eligible for them.
The recent cold snap has meant there have been Cold Weather Payment triggers in 802 postcodes across the country, with 18 of these now qualifying for two £25 payments.
In particularly cold winters, households may get multiple payments if temperatures fall below freezing for multiple seven-day periods.
To qualify for the Cold Weather Payment, you must be getting one of these benefits:
- Pension Credit
- Income support
- Income-based jobseekers' allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Universal Credit
- Support for Mortgage Interest
There are extra criteria that you must meet depending on which benefits you get. For example, if you’re receiving Universal Credit, you and your partner must not be employed or self-employed, and you must either have a health condition or disability and have limited capability for work, or have a child under five living with you.
If you get Pension Credit, you’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments. More than a quarter of people eligible for the payments receive Pension Credit (1.2 million people).
Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, said: "As temperatures plunge, Cold Weather Payments will automatically get support directly to vulnerable households.”
Where have Cold Weather Payments been triggered?
A spell of freezing cold weather at the tail end of 2025 and the start of 2026 has meant qualifying households in some postcodes will receive £25.
Payments are made automatically, so all eligible households should get the money in their bank account within 14 working days of the trigger period.
A full list of postcodes where Cold Weather Payments have been triggered as of 9 January 2026 can be found below.
Postcodes triggered on 30 December 2025: CA9, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA16, CA17, DG14, LA8, LA9, LA10, LA21, LA22, LA23, NE19, NE47, NE48, NE49, TD9.
Postcodes triggered on 1 January 2026: AL1, AL2, AL3, AL4, AL5, AL6, AL7, AL8, AL9, AL10, BB4, BB8, BB9, BB10, BB11, BB12, BB18, BD1, BD2, BD3, BD4, BD5, BD6, BD7, BD8, BD9, BD10, BD11, BD12, BD13, BD14, BD15, BD16, BD17, BD18, BD19, BD20, BD21, BD22, BN5, BN6, BN44, CB8, CB9, CO1, CO2, CO3, CO4, CO5, CO6, CO7, CO8, CO10, CO11, CO12, CO13, CO14, CO15, CO16, DE4, DE6, DE45, EN6, GU5, GU6, HD3, HD7, HD8, HD9, HP1, HP2, HP3, HP4, HP5, HP6, HP7, HP8, HP9, HP10, HP11, HP12, HP13, HP14, HP15, HP16, HP17, HP18, HP19, HP20, HP21, HP22, HP23, HP27, HX1, HX2, HX3, HX4, HX5, HX6, HX7, IP1, IP2, IP3, IP4, IP5, IP6, IP7, IP8, IP9, IP10, IP11, IP12, IP13, IP14, IP15, IP16, IP17, IP18, IP19, IP20, IP21, IP22, IP23, IP29, IP30, IP31, IP32, IP33, LS21, LS29, LU1, LU2, LU3, LU4, LU5, LU6, LU7, ME6, ME14, ME15, ME16, ME17, ME18, ME19, ME20, OL13, OL14, OX9, OX10, OX33, OX39, OX44, OX49, RG9, RH1, RH2, RH3, RH4, RH5, RH6, RH7, RH8, RH9, RH10, RH11, RH12, RH13, RH14, RH15, RH16, RH17, RH18, RH19, RH20, S32, S33, S36, SG1, SG2, SG3, SG4, SG12, SG13, SG14, SK13, SK17, SK22, SK23, SL7, SL8, SL9, ST8, ST9, ST10, ST11, ST13, TN1, TN2, TN3, TN4, TN5, TN6, TN7, TN8, TN9, TN10, TN11, TN12, TN13, TN14, TN15, TN16, TN17, TN18, TN19, TN20, TN22, TN27, WD3, WD4, WD5, WD6, WD7, WD17, WD18, WD19, WD23, WD24, WD25
Postcodes triggered on 2 January 2026: BD23, BD24, CB1, CB2, CB3, CB4, CB5, CB6, CB7, CB10, CB11, CB21, CB22, CB23, CB24, CB25, CF37, CF38, CF39, CF40, CF41, CF42, CF43, CF44, CF45, CF46, CF47, CF48, CF81, CF82, CF83, CM1, CM2, CM3, CM4, CM5, CM6, CM7, CM8, CM9, CM11, CM12, CM13, CM14, CM15, CM16, CM17, CM18, CM19, CM20, CM21, CM22, CM23, CM24, CM77, CO9, DH1, DH6, DH7, DH8, DH9, DL4, DL5, DL8, DL11, DL12, DL13, DL14, DL15, DL16, DL17, IP24, IP25, IP26, IP27, IP28, LD3, MK1, MK2, MK3, MK4, MK5, MK6, MK7, MK8, MK9, MK10, MK11, MK12, MK13, MK14, MK15, MK16, MK17, MK18, MK19, MK40, MK41, MK42, MK43, MK44, MK45, MK46, NE18, NE20, NE44, NE45, NE46, NN1, NN2, NN3, NN4, NN5, NN6, NN7, NN8, NN9, NN10, NN11, NN12, NN13, NN29, NP4, NP11, NP12, NP13, NP22, NP23, NP24, NP44, NR1, NR2, NR3, NR4, NR5, NR6, NR7, NR8, NR9, NR10, NR11, NR12, NR13, NR14, NR15, NR16, NR17, NR18, NR19, NR20, NR21, NR22, NR23, NR24, NR25, NR26, NR27, NR28, NR29, NR30, NR31, NR32, NR33, NR34, NR35, PE12, PE13, PE14, PE19, PE30, PE31, PE32, PE33, PE34, PE35, PE36, PE37, PE38, RM4, SG5, SG6, SG7, SG8, SG9, SG10, SG11, SG15, SG16, SG17, SG18, SG19, TS21, TS28, TS29
Postcodes triggered on 3 January 2026: LL20, LL21, LL23, SY10, SY15, SY16, SY17, SY19, SY21, SY22
Postcodes triggered on 6 January 2026: CA9, CA10, CA11, CA12, CA16, CA17, DG14, LA8, LA9, LA10, LA21, LA22, LA23, NE19, NE47, NE48, NE49, TD9
Postcodes triggered on 7 January 2026: CA1, CA2, CA3, CA4, CA5, CA6, CA7, CA8, DG16, BH1, BH2, BH3, BH4, BH5, BH6, BH7, BH8, BH9, BH10, BH11, BH12, BH13, BH14, BH15, BH16, BH17, BH18, BH19, BH20, BH21, BH22, BH23, BH24, BH25, BH31, DT1, DT2, DT11, SP6, CW1, CW2, CW3, CW5, CW12, SK10, SK11, ST1, ST2, ST3, ST4, ST5, ST6, ST7, ST12, ST14, ST15, ST16, ST17, ST18, ST19, ST20, ST21,CV36, GL54, GL55, GL56, OX7, OX15, OX16, OX17, WR12, LD1, LD2, LD4, LD5, LD6, LD7, LD8, SA19, SA20, SY7, SY9, SY18, BL0, BL1, BL2, BL3, BL4, BL5, BL6, BL7, BL8, BL9, M24, M26, OL1, OL2, OL3, OL4, OL5, OL6, OL7, OL8, OL9, OL10, OL11, OL12, OL15, OL16, SK15, CW4, CW6, CW7, CW8, CW9, CW10, CW11, M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, M8, M9, M11, M12, M13, M14, M15, M16, M17, M18, M19, M20, M21, M22, M23, M25, M27, M28, M29, M30, M31, M32, M33, M34, M35, M38, M40, M41, M43, M44, M45, M46, M50, M90, PR7, SK1, SK2, SK3, SK4, SK5, SK6, SK7, SK8, SK9, SK12, SK14, SK16, WA1, WA2, WA3, WA4, WA5, WA6, WA7, WA8, WA9, WA10, WA11, WA12, WA13, WA14, WA15, WA16, WN1, WN2, WN3, WN4, WN5, WN6, WN7, WN8, SY1, SY2, SY3, SY4, SY5, SY6, SY11, SY12, SY13, TF1, TF2, TF3, TF4, TF5, TF6, TF7, TF8, TF9, TF10, TF11, TF12, TF13, LE15, NN14, NN15, NN16, NN17, NN18, PE1, PE2, PE3, PE4, PE5, PE6, PE7, PE8, PE9, PE15, PE16, PE26, PE27, PE28, PE29, BT24, BT25, BT26, BT30, BT31, BT32, BT33, BT34.
Postcodes triggered on 8 January 2026: SR7, SR8, TS1, TS2, TS3, TS4, TS5, TS6, TS7, TS8, TS10, TS11, TS12, TS13, TS14, TS17, TS18, TS19, TS20, TS22, TS23, TS24, TS25, TS26, TS27, YO13, YO17, YO18, YO21, YO22, YO62
Postcodes triggered on 9 January 2026: NE71, TD5, TD12, TD15, DL1, DL2, DL3, DL6, DL7, DL9, DL10, TS9, TS15, TS16, YO7, DH2, DH3, DH4, DH5, NE1, NE2, NE3, NE4, NE5, NE6, NE7, NE8, NE9, NE10, NE11, NE12, NE13, NE15, NE16, NE17, NE21, NE22, NE23, NE24, NE25, NE26, NE27, NE28, NE29, NE30, NE31, NE32, NE33, NE34, NE35, NE36, NE37, NE38, NE39, NE40, NE41, NE42, NE43, NE61, NE62, NE63, NE64, NE65, NE66, NE67, NE68, NE69, NE70, SR1, SR2, SR3, SR4, SR5, SR6.
How to check if a Cold Weather Payment is due
If you live in England or Wales, have a look at the online postcode checker to see if your area is currently eligible for Cold Weather Payments.
If you live in Northern Ireland, check on NIDirect to see if your postcode is in an area due to receive a £25 payment.
The system is different in Scotland; those on low incomes and benefits may instead receive the Winter Heating Payment, worth £59.75, which is a single payment that's not based on weather conditions.
How do I claim a Cold Weather Payment?
You’ll get the payment within 14 working days of the trigger into the bank or building society account that you receive your benefit payments.
The payments are automatic, so if you are eligible you do not need to apply.
“I think I should have got a Cold Weather Payment, but I haven't received anything”
If payments have been triggered in your area (you can use the postcode checker on gov.uk) and you believe you meet the eligibility criteria, but you haven’t received a payment yet, contact the Pension Service or Jobcentre Plus.
“I don't qualify for Cold Weather Payments. What other energy bills help is available?”
Many households are feeling the pinch with their energy bills. If you’re struggling, check that you are claiming all the benefits you’re entitled to. Millions of pounds of government money goes unclaimed every year.
For example, if you successfully apply for Pension Credit, you’ll be eligible for Cold Weather Payments as well as other benefits and help with NHS costs.
If you’re struggling with your energy bills, check if your energy supplier offers support. For example, it may offer grants, a reduction in your bill, or more time to pay.
Switching to a fixed energy tariff could potentially save you money. We cover whether to change from a variable rate in our guide: “Should you switch to a fixed energy tariff?”
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Daniel is a financial journalist at MoneyWeek, writing about personal finance, economics, property, politics, and investing.
He covers savings, political news and enjoys translating economic data into simple English, and explaining what it means for your wallet.
Daniel joined MoneyWeek in January 2025 and previously worked at The Economist in their Audience team. He read history at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and edited Cambridge's student newspaper, Varsity.
In his free time, he likes reading, walking around Hampstead Heath, and cooking overambitious meals.