People on low incomes to receive Cold Weather Payments

People on low incomes will receive a Cold Weather Payment from the government as freezing temperatures sweep parts of the UK.

The benefit claimants will receive 25 benefits over the next two weeks, across hundreds of postcodes in England and Wales.

The Cold Weather Payment is triggered when average temperatures hit freezing or below for seven days in a row.

Payments will be made to homes across North-east England, Cumbria, West Wales and as far south as Oxfordshire.

People can check here to see if they are entitled to the money.

In December, many homes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received money when there was a run of extremely cold weather.

The recent cold snap sent temperatures as low as 9.7 C in Benson, Oxfordshire, while parts of Scotland have been relatively mild at 10.1 C.

In England, there are up to one million households. Scotland and Wales will be paid to use less electricity on Monday and Tuesday to avoid blackouts.

National Grid is running a Demand Flexibility Service, which gives people a discount on their bills if they delay energy intensive tasks such as using the washing machine or the oven at peak times.

People who have signed up to the scheme will get less power between 16: 30 and 18: 00 GMT.