Households Urged To Check Eligibility For Winter Support Schemes
1st November 2024
Cold Weather Payments take effect from today as low-income households set to get £25 during cold snaps.
Comes alongside the £150 Warm Home Discount to support eligible customers with energy bills and extension to Household Support Fund
Pensioners urged to check eligibility for Pension Credit to claim Winter Fuel Payment.
From 1 November, households receiving certain benefits including Pension Credit could be eligible for extra money to help keep warm during the cold weather until the end of March 2025.
DWP's Cold Weather Payments are an automatic bank top-up of £25, triggered to be paid to eligible households when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to an eligible person’s postcode.
The £25 payments will be paid automatically to households receiving certain benefits including, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit and Support for Mortgage Interest.
The money will appear in bank statements within 14 days of each seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2024 and 31 March 2025, with the payment reference starting with the customer’s national Insurance number followed by ‘DWP CWP’ for people in England and Wales.
Minister for Pensions Emma Reynolds said, "As we head into the winter months, I want to ensure the most vulnerable in our society are getting the support they need, and that’s why we have a range of measures targeted at helping low-income households, such as Cold Weather Payments and the Warm Homes Discount.
With the dire state of the public finances, we have had to make some tough choices, including means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment so that it goes to those most in need.
And while these choices were not made lightly, this Government is doing everything it can to ensure maximum take-up of Pension Credit while also continuing to support pensioners through our commitment to the Triple Lock which will mean an increase in the full state pension of up to £1,700 over the next 5 years.
The £150 Warm Home Discount scheme has also been extended as we continue to stand behind households in, or at risk of, fuel poverty with direct energy bill payments as well as other financial and energy-related support.
On top of this, struggling households can receive further help with their bills and essential costs through the extension of the Household Support Fund - adding to the six months already announced, an additional £1 billion, including Barnett impact, will be invested to extend this support by a full year, and to maintain Discretionary Housing Payments in England and Wales.
Anyone struggling to heat their homes or afford other essential items over the colder months should contact their local council to see what support may be available to them.
Many councils also use the Fund beyond emergency support, including working with local charities and community groups to provide residents with key appliances, school uniforms, cookery classes, and items to improve energy efficiency in the home.
Eligible pensioners can also receive up to £300 for the Winter Fuel Payment which is set to land in bank accounts in the next two months. We continue to urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to Pension Credit to check now.
This could be worth up to £3,900 a year on average and open the doors to other benefits including help with housing costs, council tax reduction as well as a Winter Fuel Payment, and all eligible Pension Credit claims can be backdated.
Winter support is part of the government’s wider drive to support vulnerable households with the cost of living, as we continue our work to fix the foundations of the economy.
This includes working closely with Local Authorities to bring together the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit as soon as operationally possible.
As confirmed in the budget earlier this week, millions of pensioners will also receive an increase of 4.1 percent to their State Pension, which means the full rate of the new State Pension will rise to over £12,000 a year, while Pension Credit standard minimum guarantee will soon be worth £227.10 a week for a single person and £346.60 for a couple.
Working age people on Universal Credit, PIP, ESA, and other vital benefits will also see their incomes protected, as they are set to increase by 1.7 percent, ensuring incomes of the most vulnerable aren’t outstripped by inflation.
More than one million households will get a £420 boost thanks to the introduction of the Fair Repayment rate, a cap the amount that can be cut from benefit payments each month to repay short-term loans and debts.
The Chancellor has also confirmed a 6.7 percent increase in the National Living Wage to over 3 million workers, which will boost the National Living Wage from £11.44 to £12.21 an hour from April 2025 and will be worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker. It is a significant step towards delivering the manifesto commitment to make sure the minimum wage is a genuine living wage, helping unlock opportunity and potential in every area of the country.
The cost of bus travel will also be kept down at £3 for an additional year - saving up to 80% on some routes - to ensure fares remain affordable.
This Government will continue to provide that safety net for the most vulnerable as it ushers in the biggest reform to employment support in a generation to get people into work and make work pay. This includes by overhauling jobcentres, introducing our employment rights bill, delivering a Youth guarantee so every young person is learning or earning, and new work, health and skills plans to tackle inactivity.
The new rates for benefits and the State Pension will apply from 7 April 2025.
The Warm Home Discount is applied automatically on energy bills in the majority of cases. If a household believes they are eligible, they should first wait to see if they receive a letter, letters will arrive with households between October and January.
If they have not received a letter by early January, they should check their energy account to see whether they have received the rebate automatically and, if not, they should contact the Warm Home Discount helpline on 0800 030 9322. Eligibility can be checked on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/check-if-youre-eligible-for-warm-home-discount
