Skip to main content
N I Direct government services

Main navigation

  • Home
  • News
  • Contacts
  • Help
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • RSS

Translation help

Translate this page

Select a language

  • Afrikaans — Afrikaans
  • Albanian — Shqip
  • Amharic — አማርኛ
  • Arabic — العربية
  • Armenian — Հայերեն
  • Assamese — অসমীয়া
  • Aymara — Aymar aru
  • Azerbaijani — Azərbaycan dili
  • Bambara — Bamanankan
  • Basque — Euskara
  • Belarusian — Беларуская
  • Bengali — বাংলা
  • Bhojpuri — भोजपुरी
  • Bosnian — Bosanski
  • Bulgarian — Български
  • Cantonese — 廣州話
  • Catalan — Català
  • Cebuano — Sinugbuanong Binisayâ
  • Chichewa — Chichewa
  • Chinese (Simplified) — 简体中文
  • Chinese (Traditional) — 繁體中文
  • Corsican — Corsu
  • Croatian — Hrvatski
  • Czech — Čeština
  • Danish — Dansk
  • Dhivehi — ދިވެހި
  • Dogri — डोगरी
  • Dutch — Nederlands
  • English — English
  • Esperanto — Esperanto
  • Estonian — Eesti
  • Ewe — Eʋegbe
  • Filipino — Filipino
  • Finnish — Suomi
  • French — Français
  • Frisian — Frysk
  • Galician — Galego
  • Georgian — ქართული
  • German — Deutsch
  • Greek — Ελληνικά
  • Guarani — Avañe’ẽ
  • Gujarati — ગુજરાતી
  • Haitian Creole — Kreyòl ayisyen
  • Hausa — Hausa
  • Hawaiian — ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi
  • Hebrew — עברית
  • Hindi — हिन्दी
  • Hmong — Hmoob
  • Hungarian — Magyar
  • Icelandic — Íslenska
  • Igbo — Asụsụ Igbo
  • Ilocano — Ilokano
  • Indonesian — Bahasa Indonesia
  • Irish — Gaeilge
  • Italian — Italiano
  • Japanese — 日本語
  • Javanese — Basa Jawa
  • Kannada — ಕನ್ನಡ
  • Kazakh — Қазақ тілі
  • Khmer — ភាសាខ្មែរ
  • Kinyarwanda — Ikinyarwanda
  • Konkani — कोंकणी
  • Korean — 한국어
  • Krio — Krio
  • Kurdish (Kurmanji) — Kurdî
  • Kurdish (Sorani) — کوردی
  • Kyrgyz — Кыргызча
  • Lao — ລາວ
  • Latin — Latina
  • Latvian — Latviešu
  • Lingala — Lingála
  • Lithuanian — Lietuvių
  • Luganda — Luganda
  • Luxembourgish — Lëtzebuergesch
  • Macedonian — Македонски
  • Maithili — मैथिली
  • Malagasy — Malagasy
  • Malay — Bahasa Melayu
  • Malayalam — മലയാളം
  • Maltese — Malti
  • Maori — Māori
  • Marathi — मराठी
  • Meiteilon (Manipuri) — ꯃꯤꯇꯩ ꯂꯣꯟ
  • Mizo — Mizo ṭawng
  • Mongolian — Монгол хэл
  • Myanmar (Burmese) — မြန်မာစာ
  • Nepali — नेपाली
  • Norwegian — Norsk
  • Odia (Oriya) — ଓଡ଼ିଆ
  • Oromo — Afaan Oromoo
  • Pashto — پښتو
  • Persian — فارسی
  • Polish — Polski
  • Portuguese — Português
  • Punjabi — ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
  • Quechua — Runa Simi
  • Romanian — Română
  • Russian — Русский
  • Samoan — Gagana Samoa
  • Sanskrit — संस्कृतम्
  • Scots Gaelic — Gàidhlig
  • Sepedi — Sepedi
  • Serbian — Српски
  • Sesotho — Sesotho
  • Shona — Shona
  • Sindhi — سنڌي
  • Sinhala — සිංහල
  • Slovak — Slovenčina
  • Slovenian — Slovenščina
  • Somali — Soomaali
  • Spanish — Español
  • Sundanese — Basa Sunda
  • Swahili — Kiswahili
  • Swedish — Svenska
  • Tajik — Тоҷикӣ
  • Tamil — தமிழ்
  • Tatar — Татар теле
  • Telugu — తెలుగు
  • Thai — ไทย
  • Tigrinya — ትግርኛ
  • Tsonga — Xitsonga
  • Turkish — Türkçe
  • Turkmen — Türkmençe
  • Twi — Twi
  • Ukrainian — Українська
  • Urdu — اردو
  • Uyghur — ئۇيغۇرچە
  • Uzbek — Oʻzbekcha
  • Vietnamese — Tiếng Việt
  • Welsh — Cymraeg
  • Xhosa — IsiXhosa
  • Yiddish — ייִדיש
  • Yoruba — Yorùbá
  • Zulu — IsiZulu
  • Breadcrumb

    1. Home
    2. Benefits and money
    3. Benefits and financial support
    4. On a low income

    Cold Weather Payment

    If you're receiving certain benefits, you could qualify for extra money for each week there is very cold weather in your area. This is known as a Cold Weather Payment.

    Latest cold weather payments

    The Cold Weather Payment scheme runs from 1 November 2025 to 31 March 2026.  

    Cold Weather Payment scheme 

    The Cold Weather Payment scheme will reopen on 1 November 2025.

    You may get a Cold Weather Payment if you’re getting certain benefits or Support for Mortgage Interest.

    You’ll get a payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days.

    You’ll get £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.

    The Cold Weather Payment scheme runs from 1 November 2025 to 31 March 20265.

    The Cold Weather Payment checker will help you see if you are entitled to a payment in your area.

    What you’ll get

    You’ll get £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.

    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.

    Cold Weather Payments do not affect your other benefits.

    You may get Cold Weather Payments if you’re getting:

    Eligibility

    • Pension Credit
    • Income Support
    • Jobseeker's Allowance (income-based)
    • Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)
    • Universal Credit
    • Support for Mortgage Interest

    Pension Credit

    You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Pension Credit.

    Income Support and income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

    You will usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance and have any of following:

    • a disability or pensioner premium
    • a child who is disabled
    • Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
    • a child under five living with you

    Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

    You will usually receive get Cold Weather Payments if you get income-related Employment and Support Allowance and are in a work-related activity group, or support group. If you're not in either group, you might also get Cold Weather Payments if you have any of the following:

    • a severe or enhanced disability premium
    • a pensioner premium
    • a child who is disabled
    • Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
    • a child under five living with you

    Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI)

    You will usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) and have any of the following:

    • a severe or enhanced disability premium
    • a pensioner premium
    • a child who is disabled
    • Child Tax Credit that includes a disability or severe disability element
    • a child under five living with you

    Universal Credit

    You’ll usually get Cold Weather Payments if you get Universal Credit, and none of the adults on your claim are employed or self-employed. One of the following must also apply:

    • you have a health condition or disability and have limited capability for work 
    • you have a child under five living with you

    You will also be eligible if you have a disabled child amount in your claim, whether you are employed or not.

    How you will be paid

    You will receive your Cold Weather Payment in the same way as you usually receive your benefit.

    How to claim

    You do not need to apply. If you’re eligible to get a Cold Weather Payment, you’ll be paid it automatically.

    A baby or child under five comes live with you

    You need to tell the office that pays your benefit if you get Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance.

    If you’re getting Universal Credit, you need to:

    • sign in to your account
    • record a change of circumstances in your Universal Credit account to have the baby or child under five added to your claim
    • add a note to your journal advising of your change

    If you do not have an online account, ring the Universal Credit helpline instead. The phone number is on letters about your Universal Credit claim.

    You will not automatically get Cold Weather Payments if you do not.

    If you do not receive your Cold Weather Payment

    Tell the Northern Ireland Pension Centre or your local Jobs and Benefits office if you think you should have received a Cold Weather Payment but you have not.

    If you’re getting Universal Credit, sign in to your account and add a note to your journal.

    If you do not have an online account, ring the Universal Credit helpline instead. The phone number is on letters about your Universal Credit claim.

    Hospital stays

    Tell the Northern Ireland Pension Centre or your local Jobs and Benefits office if you go into hospital - this could affect your payment.

    If you’re getting Universal Credit, sign in to your account and add a note to your journal.

    If you do not have an online account, ring the Universal Credit helpline instead. The phone number is on letters about your Universal Credit.

    More useful links

    • Benefits and tax allowances in retirement
    • Finance Support
    • Make the Call
    • Contacting 08 and 03 numbers
    Share this page Share on Facebook (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share on X (external link opens in a new window / tab) Share by email (external link opens in a new window / tab)

    On a low income

    • Accommodation service charges and Universal Credit
    • Benefits for higher education students
    • Christmas Bonus
    • Claim Social Fund Budgeting loan
    • Claiming Universal Credit if you're a student
    • Cold Weather Payment
    • Energy saving grants
    • Extended payment of Housing Benefit/Rate Relief
    • Help to save
    • Help with health costs
    • Housing Benefit and Rate Relief for tenants
    • Income Support
    • Income Support with dependant's allowance - two child limit
    • Mortgage Interest Run On
    • Rates Housing Benefit and Rate Relief
    • Repaying your mortgage interest on a low income
    • Support for Mortgage Interest
    • Universal Credit

    Help improve this page - send your feedback

    What do you want to do?
    Report a problem
    Which problem did you find on this page? (Tick all that apply)

    Messages

    You will not receive a reply. We will consider your feedback to help improve the site.

    Don't include any personal or financial information, for example National Insurance, credit card numbers, or phone numbers.

    What is your question about?

    What to do next

    Comments or queries about angling can be emailed to anglingcorrespondence@daera-ni.gov.uk 

    If you have a comment or query about benefits, you will need to contact the government department or agency which handles that benefit.  Contacts for common benefits are listed below.

    Carer's Allowance

    Call 0800 587 0912
    Email 
    dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

    Discretionary support / Short-term benefit advance

    Call 0800 587 2750 
    Email 
    customerservice.unit@communities-ni.gov.uk

    Disability Living Allowance

    Call 0800 587 0912 
    Email dcs.incomingpostteamdhc2@nissa.gsi.gov.uk

    Employment and Support Allowance

    Call 0800 587 1377

    Jobseeker’s Allowance

    Contact your local Jobs & Benefits office

    Personal Independence Payment

    Call 0800 587 0932

    If your query is about another benefit, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    Comments or queries about the Blue Badge scheme can be emailed to bluebadges@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk or you can also call 0300 200 7818.

    For queries or advice about careers, contact the Careers Service.

    For queries or advice about Child Maintenance, contact the Child Maintenance Service.

    For queries or advice about claiming compensation due to a road problem, contact DFI Roads claim unit.

    If you can’t find the information you’re looking for in the Coronavirus (COVID-19) section, then for queries about:

    • Restrictions or regulations — contact the Department of Health
    • Travel advice (including self-isolation) — contact the Department of Health
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations — contact the Department of Health or Public Health Agency

    If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk and for queries about your certificate, email covidcertni@hscni.net.

    For queries or advice about criminal record checks, email ani@accessni.gov.uk

    Application and payment queries can be emailed to ema_ni@slc.co.uk

    For queries or advice about employment rights, contact the Labour Relations Agency.

    For queries or advice about birth, death, marriage and civil partnership certificates and research, contact the General Register Office Northern Ireland (GRONI) by email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk

    For queries about your GRONI account, email gro_nisra@finance-ni.gov.uk.

    For queries about the High Street Spend Local Scheme,  email HSSS.mail@economy-ni.gov.uk.

    For queries about:

    • Car tax, vehicle registration and SORN
      contact the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Swansea
       
    • Driver licensing and tests, MOT and vehicle testing
      contact the Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), Northern Ireland

    If your query is about another topic, select ‘Other’ from the drop-down menu above.

    For queries about your identity check, email nida@nidirect.gov.uk.

     

    For queries or advice about passports, contact HM Passport Office.

    For queries or advice about Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs), including parking tickets and bus lane PCNs, email dcu@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk

    For queries or advice about pensions, contact the Northern Ireland Pension Centre.

    If you wish to report a problem with a road or street you can do so online in this section.

    If you wish to check on a problem or fault you have already reported, contact DfI Roads.

    For queries or advice about historical, social or cultural records relating to Northern Ireland, use the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) enquiry service.

    For queries or advice about rates, email LPSCustomerTeam@lpsni.gov.uk

    For queries or advice about  60+ and Senior Citizen SmartPasses (which can be used to get concessionary travel on public transport), contact Smartpass - Translink.

    If you have a question about a government service or policy, you should contact the relevant government organisation directly.  We don't have access to information about you.

    Related sites

    • gov.uk
    • nibusinessinfo.co.uk

    Links to supporting information

    • Accessibility statement
    • Crown copyright
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy
    • Cookies
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • YouTube
    • RSS