Every North Staffordshire postcode getting £25 Cold Weather Payment after big freeze

Cold weather payments have been announced for Staffordshire after the country was hit by a cold snap. Last week the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) revealed a number of locations where people on benefits can get the extra GBP25 payment to help them heat their homes. Today a new set of postcodes were highlighted including many in North Staffordshire.

The postcodes that qualify are: ST10 for the Cheadle area, ST13 for the Leek area and ST9 for the Endon area. There are now 300 postcodes across the UK eligible for the money but Stoke-on-Trent is not included as the temperatures did not dip low enough. The UK was gripped with cold weather recently with widespread snow and the mercury dropping as low as -7C.

Parts of Staffordshire have been added to Greater Manchester, Yorkshire, Cumbria and the North East of England which had already been identified as qualifying for the money. The Cold Weather Payment scheme applies to people in England and Wales who receive a range of benefits and this tranche of alerts are the first time it has been paid out for the 2023/24 winter season. READ:DWP Cold Weather Payments: How they work and what triggers them [1] It comes as an icy spell grips the UK

READ: 20 great photos of North Staffordshire in the snow this morning [2] Snow snaps flooded in this morning after Stokies woke up to a winter wonderland Last year more than 5.5 million Cold Weather Payments were made by the DWP. 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.

You can see the areas which will be eligible for cold weather payments this week in our interactive map. 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 can be seen by clicking here. https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment/eligibility

MPs have been notified of postcode areas which are eligible for the payments in their constituencies, and the affected areas can be seen in the DWP's online search page. The payments are triggered if average temperatures in an area have been recorded at, or are forecast to be, below freezing for seven consecutive days. You'll get GBP25 for each 7 day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2023 and 31 March 2024.

The update will mean around an extra 11,000 recipients will get the Cold Weather Payment, of which 4,000 are in receipt of Pension Credit. If you're eligible, check if any payments are due in your area of England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland by clicking here. https://coldweatherpayments.dwp.gov.uk/ According to the DWP Cold Weather Payments page, the new affected areas include Matlock Bath, Bakewell, Grindleford, Aston, Glossop, King Sterndale, New Mills, and Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire.

They also include Bagnall, Cheadle,and Leek in Staffordshire Previously announced are Albemarle weather station in Northumberland, which covers postcodes in Newcastle, Durham and the North East. Another weather station where the conditions have been met for the week from 28 November to 4 December is Rostherne weather station in Cheshire, which covers large parts of Greater Manchester.

Payments have also been triggered in areas covered by Rochdale weather station, affecting the north of Greater Manchester, and Bingley in West Yorkshire, which includes Bradford. Minister for Pensions Paul Maynard said: "Cold Weather Payments provide much needed support to households when colder weather kicks in, so that families reduce anxiety about bills. This is part of our wider plan to help those who need it the most, while our number one priority remains driving down inflation - and helping everyone's money go further".

Eligible households should have the payment credited to their bank account within 14 days of the trigger.

The money will appear in bank statements with the payment reference including the customer's National Insurance number followed by 'DWP CWP' for people in England and Wales.

References

^ DWP Cold Weather Payments: How they work and what triggers them (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^ 20 great photos of North Staffordshire in the snow this morning (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
^ Sign up to our main daily newsletter here and get all the latest news straight to your inbox for FREE (data.reachplc.com)