People in 160 more postcode areas will get a Cold Weather Payment, the Department of Work and Pensions announced of Thursday. The low temperatures mean that for some households it is their third payment so far this winter.
The new payments cover areas around the Home Counties, Norfolk, Essex and Kent and almost down to the South Coast in Sussex. It will see around 170,000 low income households receive a £25 payment towards their heating costs.
Payments have been triggered to the north and south of London but so far the weather has not been cold enough at Heathrow weather station to qualify for a payment in the 278 postcode areas it covers in Greater London. If the threshold was met at Heathrow then an estimated 577,000 households would be eligible for a payment, at a one-off cost to the government of £14.4m.
The latest update includes a £25 payment to 4,000 households in Cumbria which are now in line for their third payment of the winter. The eleven postcode areas including Kendal, Keswick and Windermere will receive £75 towards their heating bills after previous cold spells in November and earlier this month.
You can see if your postcode has been affected using our interactive map.
Here is the full list of postcodes which are eligible for the latest payments.
Tuesday 14 January
Charlwood weather station (51,000 households)
BN5 – Henfield, West Sussex
BN6 – Clayton, West Sussex
BN44 – Steyning, West Sussex
GU5 – Wonersh, Surrey
GU6 – Cranleigh, Surrey
ME6 – Snodland, Kent
ME14 – Maidstone, Kent
ME15 – Maidstone, Kent
ME16 – Maidstone, Kent
ME17 – Leeds, Kent
ME18 – West Farleigh, Kent
ME19 – West Malling, Kent
ME20 – Ditton, Kent
RH1 – Reigate and Banstead, Surrey
RH2 – Reigate and Banstead, Surrey
RH3 – Brockham, Surrey
RH4 – Dorking, Surrey
RH5 – Capel, Surrey
RH6 – Horley, Surrey
RH7 – Lingfield, Surrey
RH8 – Limpsfield, Surrey
RH9 – Godstone, Surrey
RH10 – Crawley, West Sussex
RH11 – Crawley, West Sussex
RH12 – Horsham, West Sussex
RH13 – Southwater, West Sussex
RH14 – Wisborough Green, West Sussex
RH15 – Burgess Hill, West Sussex
RH16 – Haywards Heath, West Sussex
RH17 – Cuckfield Rural, West Sussex
RH18 – Forest Row, East Sussex
RH19 – East Grinstead, West Sussex
RH20 – Storrington, West Sussex
TN1 – Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
TN2 – Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
TN3 – Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
TN4 – Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent
TN5 – Wadhurst, East Sussex
TN6 – Crowborough, East Sussex
TN7 – Hartfield, East Sussex
TN8 – Edenbridge, Kent
TN9 – Tonbridge, Kent
TN10 – Tonbridge, Kent
TN11 – Tonbridge, Kent
TN12 – Yalding, Kent
TN13 – Sevenoaks, Kent
TN14 – Dunton Green, Kent
TN15 – Wrotham, Kent
TN16 – Greater London
TN17 – Cranbrook, Kent
TN18 – Four Throws, Kent
TN19 – Burwash, East Sussex
TN20 – Mayfield, East Sussex
TN22 – Uckfield, East Sussex
TN27 – Smarden, Kent
Andrewsfield weather station (47,000 households)
CB1 – Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire
CB2 – Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire
CB3 – Hardwick, Cambridgeshire
CB4 – Impington, Cambridgeshire
CB5 – Stow cum Quy, Cambridgeshire
CB10 – Saffron Walden, Essex
CB11 – Newport, Essex
CB21 – Balsham, Cambridgeshire
CB22 – Little Shelford, Cambridgeshire
CB23 – Highfields, Cambridgeshire
CB24 – Over, Cambridgeshire
CB25 – Lode, Cambridgeshire
CM1 – Chelmsford, Essex
CM2 – Great Baddow, Essex
CM3 – Danbury, Essex
CM4 – Ingatestone, Essex
CM5 – Ongar, Essex
CM6 – Great Dunmow, Essex
CM7 – Braintree, Essex
CM8 – Witham, Essex
CM9 – Heybridge, Essex
CM11 – Essex
CM12 – Billericay, Essex
CM13 – Brentwood, Essex
CM14 – Brentwood, Essex
CM15 – Brentwood, Essex
CM16 – Epping, Essex
CM17 – Harlow, Essex
CM18 – Harlow, Essex
CM19 – Harlow, Essex
CM20 – Harlow, Essex
CM21 – Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire
CM22 – Great Hallingbury, Essex
CM23 – Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
CM24 – Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex
CM77 – Braintree, Essex
CO9 – Sible Hedingham, Essex
RM4 – Stapleford Abbotts, Essex
SG8 – Melbourn, Cambridgeshire
SG9 – Buntingford, Hertfordshire
SG10 – Much Hadham, Hertfordshire
SG11 – Standon, Hertfordshire
Brize Norton weather station (18,000 households)
OX1 – Oxford, Oxfordshire
OX2 – Oxford, Oxfordshire
OX3 – Oxford, Oxfordshire
OX4 – Oxford, Oxfordshire
OX5 – Kidlington, Oxfordshire
OX11 – Didcot, Oxfordshire
OX12 – Wantage, Oxfordshire
OX13 – Marcham, Oxfordshire
OX14 – Culham, Oxfordshire
OX18 – Carterton, Oxfordshire
OX20 – Woodstock, Oxfordshire
OX25 – Chesterton, Oxfordshire
OX26 – Bicester, Oxfordshire
OX27 – Fringford, Oxfordshire
OX28 – Witney, Oxfordshire
OX29 – Eynsham, Oxfordshire
SN7 – Shellingford, Oxfordshire
Tibenham weather station (50,000 households)
NR1 – Norwich, Norfolk
NR2 – Norwich, Norfolk
NR3 – Norwich, Norfolk
NR4 – Norwich, Norfolk
NR5 – Norwich, Norfolk
NR6 – Norwich, Norfolk
NR7 – Norwich, Norfolk
NR8 – Taverham, Norfolk
NR9 – Marlingford, Norfolk
NR10 – Hevingham, Norfolk
NR11 – Erpingham, Norfolk
NR12 – Smallburgh, Norfolk
NR13 – Blofield, Norfolk
NR14 – Alpington, Norfolk
NR15 – Hempnall, Norfolk
NR16 – Old Buckenham, Norfolk
NR17 – Attleborough, Norfolk
NR18 – Wymondham, Norfolk
NR19 – Scarning, Norfolk
NR20 – Swanton Morley, Norfolk
NR21 – Fakenham, Norfolk
NR22 – Walsingham, Norfolk
NR23 – Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk
NR24 – Briston, Norfolk
NR25 – Holt, Norfolk
NR26 – Sheringham, Norfolk
NR27 – Cromer, Norfolk
NR28 – North Walsham, Norfolk
NR29 – Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
NR30 – Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
NR31 – Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
NR32 – Oulton Broad, Suffolk
NR33 – Oulton Broad, Suffolk
NR34 – Weston, Suffolk
NR35 – Bungay, Suffolk
16 January
Shap weather station (Third £25 payment this winter for 4,000 households)CA10 – Cliburn, Cumbria
CA11 – Catterlen, Cumbria
CA12 – Keswick, Cumbria
CA16 – Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria
CA17 – Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria
LA8 – Kendal, Cumbria
LA9 – Kendal, Cumbria
LA10 – Sedbergh, Cumbria
LA21 – Coniston, Cumbria
LA22 – Lakes, Cumbria
LA23 – Windermere, Cumbria
The announcement comes after the DWP revealed on Wednesday that payments had been triggered for nearly a million households in 517 postcode areas across Greater Manchester, Yorkshire and the West Midlands. A total of 1.4 million Cold Weather Payments have been triggered so far this winter.
Some areas have already received two £25 payments following cold snaps in November and January and parts of Cumbria receiving three. The total cost of the taxpayer of the scheme so far this winter is now around £35 million.
Cold Weather Payments are made to people in England and Wales who receive a range of benefits. A separate scheme is operated in Northern Ireland along similar lines but in Scotland the support for heating bills is paid every winter and not linked to specific spells of cold weather.
There are an estimated 3.9 million people eligible for Cold Weather Payments under the DWP scheme and of these 1.2 million are in receipt of Pensions Credit. Last year there were 364,000 payments made across England and Wales at a total cost of £9.1 million.
In some areas of Cumbria, the Cold Weather Payments were triggered three times during separate spells of freezing weather last winter, meaning eligible recipients were paid £75 in total. The DWP says those claiming the following benefits may be eligible for the Cold Weather Payment; Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit, Support for Mortgage Interest.
Not all those receiving these benefits will automatically receive a Cold Weather Payment. There are a number of factors which will determine whether a payment will be made and full details of those eligible are here: https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/eligibility