Cold Weather Payment 2026 to 2027: £25 Dates, Who Gets It and How It Differs From Winter Fuel Payment

The Cold Weather Payment is £25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2026 and 31 March 2027, according to GOV.UK. It is paid automatically to people on certain benefits when the average temperature in their area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0 degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days. This story adds a side-by-side of the three UK winter heating payments, the arithmetic of the scheme window, and a one-page printable checklist.

When does the Cold Weather Payment start in 2026?

GOV.UK says the 2026 to 2027 scheme starts on 1 November 2026. nidirect, the Northern Ireland government site, says the scheme “will reopen on 1 November 2026 and run to 31 March 2027.”

GOV.UK adds that you will be able to check if your area is due a payment in November 2026. We could not confirm the date the postcode checker opens, so none is given here. The official checker page blocked our automated access, so use the link from the GOV.UK Cold Weather Payment page once November starts.

How much is the Cold Weather Payment?

£25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather in your area, per GOV.UK. nidirect gives £25.00 per seven-day period for Northern Ireland and says the payment does not affect other benefits.

Here is the arithmetic of the window. From Sunday, 1 November 2026 to Wednesday, 31 March 2027 is 151 days, counting both end dates. That fits at most 21 full, non-overlapping 7-day periods. This is a ceiling set by the calendar, not a forecast: neither GOV.UK nor nidirect says how many periods any area will see this winter, and we have no count.

Scheme window fact	Figure	Basis
First day	Sunday, 1 Nov. 2026	GOV.UK, nidirect
Last day	Wednesday, 31 March 2027	GOV.UK, nidirect
Days in the window	151	Our count, both dates included
Full 7-day periods that fit	21	151 divided by 7, rounded down
Payment per period	£25	GOV.UK, nidirect

What triggers a payment?

GOV.UK says a payment is triggered when the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, 0 degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days. The page we used does not say how areas are drawn, so check your area from November.

Who is eligible for the Cold Weather Payment?

GOV.UK says you may get Cold Weather Payments if you are getting one of these:

• Pension Credit
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit
• Support for Mortgage Interest

GOV.UK says you will usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Pension Credit. For the other benefits it lists extra conditions that we do not repeat here, so read the GOV.UK eligibility page before you assume you qualify or do not.

Do I need to apply, and when is it paid?

No. GOV.UK says you will get these payments automatically and do not need to apply. You should get a payment within 14 working days of each period of very cold weather in your area, paid into the same account as your benefits, per GOV.UK. nidirect says Northern Ireland payments are automatic and made within 14 working days.

Report changes in your household, such as a new baby or a child under 5 joining it, as GOV.UK advises. Our November 2026 printable calendar has room to mark the day a cold spell is announced and count 14 working days from it.

How does it differ from the Winter Fuel Payment?

The Cold Weather Payment follows the weather, and it goes to people on certain benefits. The Winter Fuel Payment follows your birth date, and it is covered in our Winter Fuel Payment 2026 story. Scotland’s Winter Heating Payment does not depend on how cold it is, per mygov.scot.

	Cold Weather Payment	Winter Fuel Payment	Winter Heating Payment (Scotland)
Who	People on Pension Credit, income-related ESA, Universal Credit or Support for Mortgage Interest, with extra conditions for some	People born on or before 27 June 1960	Scotland only; see mygov.scot for who qualifies
Amount	£25 per 7-day cold period	£100 to £300	£62.00 (current amount on mygov.scot, page updated February 2026)
When	Within 14 working days of each cold period, 1 Nov. 2026 to 31 March 2027	Most people in Nov. or Dec. 2026	From December and through winter each year, per mygov.scot
Triggered by cold	Yes, 0 degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days	No	No
Apply	No, automatic	A claim is needed in some cases; deadline 31 March 2027	See mygov.scot
Where	England, Wales, Northern Ireland; not Scotland	England, Wales, Northern Ireland; not Scotland	Scotland

Sources: GOV.UK and nidirect for the Cold Weather Payment; GOV.UK for the Winter Fuel Payment; mygov.scot for the Winter Heating Payment, fetched 26 Oct. 2026.

What about Scotland?

GOV.UK says that if you live in Scotland you cannot get Cold Weather Payments, and that you might get an annual Winter Heating Payment instead. mygov.scot says the current payment is £62.00, that it is paid from December and through winter each year, and that it does not depend on how cold it is.

The mygov.scot page does not name 2026 to 2027, and it was last updated on 20 February 2026. Treat £62.00 as the current amount on that page. We could not confirm the 2026 to 2027 amount or payment date.

Printable

The checklist in the downloads below covers what to check, what to watch for and what to do, from the benefits list to the 14 working day payment window. The 2026 printable yearly calendar shows the whole 1 November to 31 March window on one page, and the 2026 UK holiday list shows bank holidays that can affect working-day counts. For another UK money date this week, see the UK Budget 2026 story, and for days off over the festive period, the Christmas bank holidays story.