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The government spent 430 times more on Cold Weather Payments this winter than it had originally planned to.
In total, more than five million Cold Weather Payments totalling over £130 million were issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between November 2022 and the end of March this year.
The total far outweighs the government’s projections which estimated that just £300,000 would be spent on the scheme this winter.
The £130 million total expenditure is also the record amount spent on Cold Weather Payments since the scheme was launched in 2014.
The previous record high was recorded during the 2017-18 winter when £118.7 million was spent. Last winter £98.8 million of payments were issued, however just £300,000 was spent on the scheme during the mild winter of 2020-21.
The scheme is designed to help more than 3.7 million people in receipt of certain benefits during prolonged periods of cold weather.
When the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0℃ or below over seven consecutive days, a payment of £25 is automatically made to those eligible in the coverage area of each station.
This winter, around 80% of all payments were triggered during December. Of the five million payments made, the DWP estimates that two million were made to pensioners.
Minister for Pensions Laura Trott said: “Cold Weather Payments provide vital support to help people through cold snaps each Winter.
“While those colder months are now thankfully behind us, there will be no let-up in our extensive support for households across the country.
“This government is committed to helping the most vulnerable in our society. We’re delivering the biggest State Pension increase in history and boosting benefits by over 10%, while our Energy Price Guarantee will continue to hold down people’s energy bills.”
Automatic payments were triggered 108 times in England this winter and 19 times in Wales.
A separate scheme mirroring the system is run in Northern Ireland, while Social Security Scotland introduced its Winter Heating Payment initiative, a replacement for Cold Weather Payment.
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