DWP Cold Weather Payments update as SECOND payment issued in 11 postcode areas - full list

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued a second £25 Cold Weather Payment for some areas of the UK, with thousands of people now entitled to £50 towards their heating bills.

The second Cold Weather Payment has been triggered for eleven postcode districts in Cumbria. It is estimated that around 4,000 people will receive the second payment after temperatures around the Lake District dipped below freezing last week.

These are the first areas to receive a second Cold Weather Payment so far this winter. Nearly 300 other postcode areas in the North of England and East Midlands have been given a single payment of £25.

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Payments have also been made in eleven areas in Northern Ireland. In most other areas of England and also all of Wales, temperatures have not dropped below freezing for long enough to trigger any payment from the DWP.

The eleven postcode areas in Cumbria to receive a second payment include Windermere, the Lakes and Coniston, after freezing temperatures recorded at the Shap weather centre. The first payment was triggered on 27 November and the second on 1 December.

A total of more than 580,000 people have so far received a Cold Weather Payment this winter. Last year more than 5.5 million Cold Weather Payments were made by the DWP over the whole winter.

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