DWP Cold Weather Payments triggered in 18 England postcode areas as -5C freeze hits – full list
It comes as temperatures are set to drop to -5C in the coming days
17:30, 30 Dec 2025
Temperatures are due to plummet in the coming days with snow forecast (Image: PA)
The first Cold Weather Payments of the winter have been triggered in 18 areas of England. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) pays £25 to eligible households when temperatures are forecast to be, or drop below, 0C or under for seven consecutive days.
Areas in Cumbria, Northumberland, and the Scottish Borders (which include parts of England), affecting a total of 6,000 households, have been triggered today (December 30).
It comes after amber cold weather health alerts were issued for the North East and North West of England, which are due to remain in place until noon on January 5, with temperatures expected to fall to -5C.
These alerts mean the freezing weather is “likely” to cause significant impacts across health and social care services, including a “rise in deaths” among those with health conditions or aged 65 or over.
A yellow warning for snow and ice has also been issued for parts of Scotland north of the central belt from 6am on New Year’s Day until midnight on January 2.
Strong, potentially gale-force northerly winds will also batter those in the warning zone, the Met Office said.
Around 10cm snow is expected to have accumulated in some areas by Friday morning, reaching up to 30cm on the highest roads and hills.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Mark Sidaway said: “It certainly looks like we are in for a taste of ‘winter’ as we welcome in the new year, initially in the north but more widely across the UK for the first week of 2026.
“Arctic air and strong northerly winds will bring cold or very cold conditions to all parts of the UK, and it will feel especially cold in the strong winds.
“Widespread and locally severe frosts are expected, along with the first snow of the winter for many.
“These colder conditions and wintry hazards – snow, ice and strong winds – will develop more widely as we enter the new year, with more warnings for snow and ice likely.
“It looks like this cold spell will last through at least the first week of January, so it’s important people keep up to date with the latest forecast and warnings.”
Here are a full list of the postcode areas which will recieve Cold Weather Payments:
- CA10 Cliburn, Cumbria
- CA11 Catterlen, Cumbria
- CA12 Keswick, Cumbria
- CA16 Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria
- CA17 Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria
- LA10 Sedbergh, Cumbria
- LA21 Coniston, Cumbria
- LA22 Lakes, Cumbria
- LA23 Windermere, Cumbria
- LA8 Kendal, Cumbria
- LA9 Kendal, Cumbria
- CA9 Alston, Cumbria
- NE19 Elsdon, Northumberland
- NE47 Allendale, Northumberland
- NE48 Bellingham, Northumberland
- NE49 Haltwhistle, Northumberland
- DG14 Dumfries Border (parts in England)
- TD9 Scottish Borders (parts in England)
Minister for Pensions Torsten Bell said: “As temperatures plunge, Cold Weather Payments will automatically get support directly to vulnerable households.
“Combined with the biggest ever Pension Credit take-up campaign and our Triple Lock commitment – set to increase the State Pension by up to £2,100 over this Parliament – we’re ensuring pensioners get the support they need this Winter.”
The payments are made automatically into a recipient’s bank account and will land in accounts within 14 days of the payment being triggered.
They are made to people in England and Wales who receive a range of benefits including Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit, Support for Mortgage Interest.
The DWP explains: “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.”
