The DWP has been urged to increase Cold Weather Payments from £25 to £50 as energy bills soar, with experts warning the current amount ‘doesn’t go very far anymore’

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has been called upon to raise the payment rates for a specific scheme. The programme is accessible to millions of benefit recipients, including those on Universal Credit and Pension Credit.

The Cold Weather Payments scheme provides £25 payments if temperatures in your area drop to, or are predicted to be, below zero degrees centigrade for seven consecutive days. You may receive multiple payments of £25 into your bank account through the scheme, if the payments are activated in your specific region more than once over a five-month period.

The scheme operates from 1 November to 31 March.

Individuals receiving these six benefits may be eligible for the payment into their bank account:

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Universal Credit
• Support for Mortgage Interest

Given the escalating cost of living, one question is whether the £25 amount should be increased. Matthew Sheeran, external relations manager at finance support group Money Wellness, cautioned that £25 “just doesn’t go very far anymore”, reports the Express.

He stated: “Energy bills are still high, and for many households, that amount barely scratches the surface of a week’s heating costs. Increasing it to around £40 or £50 would make a much more meaningful difference for people trying to keep their homes warm.”

Raising the payments to £40 would result in an additional £15 being disbursed each time, whilst increasing it to £50 would add £25 to the payments.

When do Cold Weather Payments go out?

Regarding when Cold Weather Payments arrive in accounts, information on the Government website explains: “After each period of very cold weather in your area, you should get a payment within 14 working days. It’s paid into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments.”

If you live in Scotland, the payments scheme has been replaced with the Winter Heating Payment, which has largely the same qualifying rules in terms of what benefits you need to claim.

This is a one-off amount that goes out regardless of the weather conditions, and is worth £59.75. Payments go out between December and the end of February.

Sudden energy bills increase

One concerning recent development for bill payers is the rising price of oil in light of the Iran war. This has already significantly increased the price of heating oil.

Mr Sheeran said the sudden price increase is “really worrying”.

He said: “They’ve jumped massively in a very short space of time because of the conflict in the Middle East, with most quotes now more than double what they were just weeks ago. In some areas, a typical 500 litre delivery is hundreds of pounds more expensive than before.

“That’s a huge hit for the millions of households off the gas grid who rely on oil for heat and hot water. And they’re not protected by the energy price cap, so every crude oil spike feeds straight through to their bills.”

The consumer expert offered some advice for those affected by this sudden rise in their expenses. He stated: “If you’re in that position, it’s worth seeing if you can join a local oil buying group to get a better price, check whether you qualify for schemes like the Warm Home Discount or the Household Support Fund, and ask your supplier about spreading the cost. But this sudden squeeze really highlights how vulnerable offgrid and rural households are when energy prices go up.”