More than half a million households across the UK are set to receive £25 Cold Weather Payments after freezing conditions triggered support in hundreds of areas this week. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) confirmed that payments were triggered on Wednesday, January 7, in 246 postcode areas, covering parts of Greater Manchester, Cumbria, Staffordshire, Gloucestershire, as well as areas of Wales and Northern Ireland.
The payments are designed to help vulnerable households with the cost of heating their homes during prolonged spells of cold weather. The latest round of payments is expected to reach an estimated 532,000 households, including around 336,000 in Greater Manchester alone. The total cost to the taxpayer for payments triggered on Wednesday is estimated at £13.3 million.
Cold Weather Payments apply to people in England and Wales who receive certain benefits, with a similar but separate scheme operating in Northern Ireland. In Scotland, winter heating support is paid every year and is not linked to specific cold weather conditions.
Under the rules for England and Wales, a £25 payment is triggered when an area is forecast to experience average temperatures of zero degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days.
Forecasters have warned that sub-zero temperatures are expected in many areas as the cold spell continues into the New Year.
So far this winter, Cold Weather Payments have been triggered in 697 postcode areas. Of those, 18 districts have received two separate £25 payments, as the current cold snap has lasted more than two weeks in those locations.
The DWP estimates that around 3.9 million people are eligible for Cold Weather Payments overall, including 1.2 million people receiving Pension Credit.
The full list of the 246 postcode areas where payments were triggered on Wednesday, January 7 has been published by the Government. Full eligibility details and postcode information can be found on the official GOV.UK website.
The full list of new postcodes to receive the payments is:
Triggered by Rochdale weather station (an estimated total of 95,000 eligible households)
BL0 Ramsbottom, Bury
BL1 Bolton
BL2 Bolton
BL3 Bolton
BL4 Bolton
BL5 Westhoughton, Bolton
BL6 Horwich, Bolton
BL7 Bolton
BL8 Bury
BL9 Bury
M24 Middleton, Rochdale
M26 Bury
OL1 Oldham
OL10 Heywood, Rochdale
OL11 Rochdale
OL12 Rochdale
OL15 Rochdale
OL16 Rochdale
OL2 Shaw, Oldham
OL3 Saddleworth, Oldham
OL4 Oldham
OL5 Mossley, Tameside
OL6 Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
OL7 Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
OL8 Oldham
OL9 Oldham
SK15 Tameside
Triggered by Rostherne weather station (an estimated total of 241,000 eligible households):
CW10 Middlewich, Cheshire East
CW11 Sandbach, Cheshire East
CW4 Holmes Chapel, Cheshire East
CW6 Tarporley, Cheshire West And Chester
CW7 Winsford, Cheshire West And Chester
CW8 Weaverham, Cheshire West And Chester
CW9 Northwich, Cheshire West And Chester
M1 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M11 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M12 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M13 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M14 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M15 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M16 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M17 Urmston, Trafford
M18 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M19 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M2 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M20 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M21 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M22 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M23 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M25 Bury
M27 Salford
M28 Walkden, Salford
M29 Pemberton, Wigan
M3 Salford
M30 Salford
M31 Partington, Trafford
M32 Urmston, Trafford
M33 Trafford
M34 Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
M35 Oldham
M38 Walkden, Salford
M4 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M40 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M41 Urmston, Trafford
M43 Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
M44 Salford
M45 Bury
M46 Pemberton, Wigan
M5 Salford
M50 Salford Quays, Salford
M6 Salford
M7 Salford
M8 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M9 Manchester, Greater Manchester
M90 Ringway, Greater Manchester
PR7 Chorley, Lancashire
SK1 Stockport
SK12 Poynton, Cheshire East
SK14 Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
SK16 Ashton-under-Lyne, Tameside
SK2 Stockport
SK3 Stockport
SK4 Stockport
SK5 Stockport
SK6 Stockport
SK7 Cheadle, Stockport
SK8 Stockport
SK9 Macclesfield, Cheshire East
WA1 Birchwood, Warrington
WA10 St Helens
WA11 St Helens
WA12 St Helens
WA13 Lymm, Warrington
WA14 Trafford
WA15 Trafford
WA16 Knutsford, Cheshire East
WA2 Birchwood, Warrington
WA3 Croft, Warrington
WA4 Appleton, Warrington
WA5 Great Sankey, Warrington
WA6 Frodsham, Cheshire West And Chester
WA7 Runcorn, Halton
WA8 Runcorn, Halton
WA9 St Helens
WN1 Pemberton, Wigan
WN2 Pemberton, Wigan
WN3 Pemberton, Wigan
WN4 Pemberton, Wigan
WN5 Pemberton, Wigan
WN6 Pemberton, Wigan
WN7 Leigh, Wigan
WN8 Ormskirk, Lancashire
Triggered by Hurn weather station (an estimated total of 41,000 eligible households):
BH1 Bournemouth
BH10 Bournemouth
BH11 Bournemouth
BH12 Poole
BH13 Poole
BH14 Poole
BH15 Poole
BH16 Upton, Dorset
BH17 Poole
BH18 Poole
BH19 Swanage, Dorset
BH2 Bournemouth
BH20 Wareham, Dorset
BH21 Colehill, Dorset
BH22 Ferndown, Dorset
BH23 Burton, Dorset
BH24 Ringwood, Hampshire
BH25 New Milton, Hampshire
BH3 Bournemouth
BH31 Verwood, Dorset
BH4 Bournemouth
BH5 Bournemouth
BH6 Bournemouth
BH7 Bournemouth
BH8 Bournemouth
BH9 Bournemouth
DT1 Dorchester, Dorset
DT11 Bryanston, Dorset
DT2 Charminster, Dorset
SP6 Fordingbridge, Hampshire
Triggered by Carlisle weather station (an estimated total of 10,000 eligible households):
CA1 Carlisle, Cumbria
CA2 Carlisle, Cumbria
CA3 Carlisle, Cumbria
CA4 Wetheral, Cumbria
CA5 Orton, Cumbria
CA6 Kirklinton, Cumbria
CA7 Waverton, Cumbria
CA8 Brampton, Cumbria
DG16 Gretna Border (parts In England)
Triggered by Little Rissington weather station (an estimated total of 8,000 eligible households):
CV36 Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire
GL54 Naunton, Gloucestershire
GL55 Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire
GL56 Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire
OX15 Tadmarton, Oxfordshire
OX16 Banbury, Oxfordshire
OX17 Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire
OX7 Chadlington, Oxfordshire
WR12 Broadway, Worcestershire
Triggered by Keele weather station (an estimated total of 58,000 eligible households):
CW1 Crewe, Cheshire East
CW12 Congleton, Cheshire East
CW2 Crewe, Cheshire East
CW3 Bridgemere, Cheshire East
CW5 Nantwich, Cheshire East
SK10 Macclesfield, Cheshire East
SK11 Macclesfield, Cheshire East
ST1 Stoke-on-Trent
ST12 Barlaston, Staffordshire
ST14 Uttoxeter, Staffordshire
ST15 Stone, Staffordshire
ST16 Stafford, Staffordshire
ST17 Stafford, Staffordshire
ST18 Hopton, Staffordshire
ST19 Penkridge, Staffordshire
ST2 Stoke-on-Trent
ST20 Gnosall, Staffordshire
ST21 Eccleshall, Staffordshire
ST3 Stoke-on-Trent
ST4 Stoke-on-Trent
ST5 Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire
ST6 Stoke-on-Trent
ST7 Kidsgrove, Staffordshire
Triggered by Llysdinam weather station (an estimated total of 4,000 eligible households):
LD1 Llandrindod Wells, Powys
LD2 Duhonw, Powys
LD4 Llangamarch, Powys
LD5 Treflys, Powys
LD6 Rhayader, Powys
LD7 Knighton, Powys
LD8 Presteigne, Powys
SA19 Talley, Carmarthenshire
SA20 Llandovery, Carmarthenshire
SY18 Llanidloes, Powys
SY7 Hopesay, Shropshire
SY9 Lydham, Shropshire
Triggered by Wittering weather station (an estimated total of45,000 eligible households):
LE15 Hambleton, Rutland
NN14 Warkton, Northamptonshire
NN15 Kettering, Northamptonshire
NN16 Kettering, Northamptonshire
NN17 Corby, Northamptonshire
NN18 Corby, Northamptonshire
PE1 Peterborough
PE15 March, Cambridgeshire
PE16 Chatteris, Cambridgeshire
PE2 Peterborough
PE26 Ramsey, Cambridgeshire
PE27 St Ives, Cambridgeshire
PE28 The Stukeleys, Cambridgeshire
PE29 Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
PE3 Peterborough
PE4 Peterborough
PE5 Ailsworth, Peterborough
PE6 Deeping St James, Lincolnshire
PE7 Farcet, Cambridgeshire
PE8 Tansor, Northamptonshire
PE9 Stamford, Lincolnshire
Triggered by Shawbury weather station (an estimated total of 30,000 eligible households):
SY1 Shrewsbury, Shropshire
SY11 Oswestry, Shropshire
SY12 Ellesmere, Shropshire
SY13 Whitchurch Rural, Shropshire
SY2 Shrewsbury, Shropshire
SY3 Shrewsbury, Shropshire
SY4 Myddle, Shropshire
SY5 Longden, Shropshire
SY6 Church Stretton, Shropshire
TF1 Wellington, Telford And Wrekin
TF10 Newport, Telford And Wrekin
TF11 Shifnal, Shropshire
TF12 Broseley, Shropshire
TF13 Much Wenlock, Shropshire
TF2 St Georges And Priorslee, Telford And Wrekin
TF3 Hollinswood, Telford And Wrekin
TF4 Telford, Telford And Wrekin
TF5 Wellington, Telford And Wrekin
TF6 Rodington, Telford And Wrekin
TF7 Madeley, Telford And Wrekin
TF8 The Gorge, Telford And Wrekin
TF9 Sutton Upon Tern, Shropshire
Northern Ireland – Katesbridge weather station
BT24 Ballynahinch
BT25 Dromore
BT26 Hillsborough
BT30 Downpatrick
BT31 Castlewellan
BT32 Banbridge
BT33 Newcastle
BT34 Newry (County Down)
