The payments are only payable between November 1 and March 31, which means they are officially open from today if the weather gets cold enough.

The payments are an automatic bank top up of £25 from the DWP and are sent to eligible households claiming Pension Credit, Income Support, income based Jobseekers Allowance, income related Employment and Support Allowance, Universal Credit and Support For Mortgage Interest.

The DWP says: “DWP’s Cold Weather Payments are an automatic bank top-up of £25, triggered to be paid to eligible households when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below for seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to an eligible person’s postcode.

“The £25 payments will be paid automatically to households receiving certain benefits including, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), Universal Credit and Support for Mortgage Interest.

“The money will appear in bank statements within 14 days of each seven-day period of very cold weather between 1 November 2024 and 31 March 2025, with the payment reference starting with the customer’s national Insurance number followed by ‘DWP CWP’ for people in England and Wales.”

According to the Met Office, the weather is set to be relatively mild for this time of year for the next few days, with temperatures dropping only as low as 8C in the coming week, so it’s unlikely that the payments will be paid out yet.

But they are regionalised, so for example if you live in a very northern tip of the country and your are experiences a freezing snap, you’ll be eligible for the payments.

Minister for Pensions Emma Reynolds said: “As we head into the winter months, I want to ensure the most vulnerable in our society are getting the support they need, and that’s why we have a range of measures targeted at helping low-income households, such as Cold Weather Payments and the Warm Homes Discount.

“With the dire state of the public finances, we have had to make some tough choices, including means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment so that it goes to those most in need.

“And while these choices were not made lightly, this Government is doing everything it can to ensure maximum take-up of Pension Credit while also continuing to support pensioners through our commitment to the Triple Lock which will mean an increase in the full state pension of up to £1,700 over the next 5 years.”