DWP Cold Weather payment eligibility as first postcodes triggered across England

The DWP Cold Weather Payments have been triggered for 18 postcode areas across the UK after the temperature plummets and snow blankets much of the country.

Around 10,000 people living across 18 postcode areas will receive the £25 Cold Weather Payment towards their heating bills. Between November and March, the DWP runs its Cold Weather Payment scheme, which sees eligible households get a one-off £25 payment each time the temperature drops below 0C for seven consecutive days.

Read more: UK snow LIVE: Snow falls across Greater Manchester with major roads CLOSED amid 'significant risk' warning

To be eligible for the scheme, households need to be receiving certain benefits from the DWP. These include Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit, and Support for Mortgage Interest.

But not everyone receiving these benefits will automatically receive the money. There are several factors which will determine whether a payment will be made and full eligibility details can be found on the government website.

The payments get sent automatically to eligible households in each postcode area if the temperature is recorded, or forecast, to be below zero for seven days running.

Most of the eligible postcode areas are within Cumbria where payment was triggered on 17 November after freezing temperatures swept the region.

Around 3.9 million people are eligible for Cold Weather Payments under the DWP scheme and 1.2 million of these are in receipt of Pensions Credit. Last year there were 364,000 payments made across England and Wales, costing a total of £9.1 million.

In some areas of Cumbria, the Cold Weather Payments were triggered