Winter Heating Payment 2025/26 payments begin

The Winter Heating Payment for winter 2025/26 started being paid from mid December 2025, and most people who were eligible had been paid by the end of February 2026¹. The payment is a one-off £59.75 for the season¹. It is made in Scotland and administered by Social Security Scotland³.

The payment is a means-tested benefit, is not taxable, and does not count as income when entitlement to other benefits is worked out³. Most payments are made automatically from December 2025³. It replaced Cold Weather Payments in Scotland, and unlike those payments it does not depend on how cold the weather gets in the area¹.

Cold Weather Payments continue in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The scheme runs from the start of November to the end of March, and pays £25 for each week, between 1 November and 31 March, where the average temperature in the local area is at or below freezing over seven consecutive days¹. No application is needed: payments are automatic, usually into the same account as benefit payments, and should arrive within 14 working days after each period of very cold weather¹. Eligibility includes receiving Pension Credit, or Income Support or income-based Jobseeker's Allowance with certain premiums or a child under five, or Universal Credit in specified circumstances, or Support for Mortgage Interest¹.

Separately, the Winter Fuel Payment is a yearly tax-free payment of between £100 and £300 for people of State Pension age¹. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, recipients must have reached State Pension age before or during the qualifying week in September, and payments are generally made between November and December¹. Where gross taxable income is higher than £35,000, the payment is likely to be recovered later through HMRC¹. In Scotland the equivalent is the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, worth £203.40 or £305.10 depending on age, paid by Social Security Scotland in 2025/26, with the same £35,000 recovery point and an online opt-out¹.

Why it matters for households

For households in Scotland receiving certain benefits, the £59.75 Winter Heating Payment is paid automatically and does not reduce other benefit entitlement¹. Because it does not depend on temperature, it arrives regardless of how cold the winter is locally, unlike the Cold Weather Payment it replaced¹. In the rest of the UK, Cold Weather Payments remain triggered by sustained cold spells, so the number and timing of £25 payments varies by area and by winter¹. The Winter Fuel Payment and its Scottish equivalent are separate, age-based payments, and for those with gross taxable income above £35,000 the money is recovered through HMRC rather than kept¹. The Warm Home Discount is a one-off £150 reduction to electricity bills, open from October, with a qualifying date of 23 August 2026; in Northern Ireland the Affordable Warmth Scheme applies instead¹.

What happens next

The winter 2025/26 Winter Heating Payment run is complete, with most eligible people paid by the end of February 2026¹. Cold Weather Payments can be triggered until the end of March, and the Warm Home Discount scheme's qualifying date is 23 August 2026¹. No announcement has been reported on arrangements for winter 2026/27.

More detail is in the guides to Winter Heating Payments in Scotland, Cold Weather Payment, Winter Fuel Payment and the Warm Home Discount, or the benefits hub.