Residents of North East Lincolnshire will be interested to know that the recent cold weather has now triggered two payments of £25.00 to those who qualify.

During a very cold winter, the costs of heating can quickly add up. If you’re receiving certain benefits, you may be able to get a Cold Weather Payment for each period of very cold weather in your area. You can find out whether you qualify for help this winter from the DirectGov website.

Cold Weather Payments help people, who get certain income-related benefits, with their increased heating costs caused by periods of very cold weather during winter.

A cold weather payment is made if the average recorded temperature falls to zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days or if it is forecast there will be an averagetemperarure of zero degrees Celsius or below for seven days in a row.

How the Cold Weather Payments scheme works

The Cold Weather Payments scheme runs every winterbetween November 1st and March 31st.

A network of weather stations gathers temperature information. This is used to see whether there has been a ‘period of very cold weather’ in any postcode area.

When there is a period of very cold weather in your postcode area, a Cold Weather Payment is made to eligible people who live there.

When there hasn’t been a period of very cold weather in your postcode area, a Cold Weather Payment will not be paid.

People who live near to each other but in different postcode areas might get Cold Weather payments at different times.

How to find out if Cold Weather Payments have been made in your postcode area

You can find out if a Cold Weather Payment has been made in your postcode area by using the Postcode Search