More than 2.3 million cold weather payments, totalling £59 million, are estimated to have already been handed out in the first six weeks of 2021.
Cold weather payments, which are different to winter fuel allowance payments, are triggered if the average temperature in the area of eligible households is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below over seven consecutive days.
Across Great Britain it is estimated that there are more than 3.6 million eligible recipients for the scheme. Those who meet the criteria receive £25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March.
Figures published by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) reveal that the allowance for vulnerable households has been triggered 118 times already this year.
Conditions have been triggered seven times each in Tulloch Bridge, Loch Glascarnoch, and Braemar which are all in Scotland. Redesdale, Northumberland, has met the criteria six times, while places in England as far south as Bedford, and Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, have also been activated.
Cold weather payment estimates in Great Britain 1 November 2020, 12 February 2021
| Great Britain | England | Scotland | Wales | |
| Number of triggers | 118 | 54 | 71 | 6 |
| Total eligible recipients (estimated) | 3,609,000 | 3,030,000 | 356,000
|
223,000
|
| Number of payments made (estimated) | 2,375,000 | 1,701,000 | 553,000
|
122,000
|
The latest figures are a stark contrast to the same period in 2020, during which zero payments were made, and 2019 when just short of 1.1 million were made.
Furthermore in the same period in 2018 conditions were only triggered 21 times in the first six weeks of the year, with 99,000 payments made in that time.
Responding to the latest statistics Will Owen, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “These figures show how many people are battling through freezing temperatures at a time when many household budgets are already stretched to the limit.
“Cold weather payments help many vulnerable people to keep the heating on when they might not be able to afford it, and they are more valuable than ever this year.”
Peter Smith, director of policy and research at National Energy Action, said: “These worrying statistics highlight how urgent fixing Britain’s cold, leaky housing is. Millions of people across the UK currently face every winter in properties which are dangerous or unfit for colder seasons.
“While these recent cold weather payments will be welcome, they are only triggered when it’s exceptionally cold for a prolonged period. Milder temperatures can still be fatal for those with serious underlying health conditions.”