Qualifying Castle Point Residents will receive a £25 per week cold weather payment from the Government as the local temperature has dipped below 0 degrees Celsius for seven days.

The Department for Work and Pensions today confirmed that qualifying residents living in SS7 and SS8 postcodes would be receiving a £25 Cold Weather Payment. The payments normally take three working days to process and will be made automatically.

Residents entitled to automatic payments include those who receive,

• Pension Credit
• Income Support
• Employment and Support Allowance (income-related)
• income-based Jobseeker's Allowance

In 2010 the coalition government decided to continue to pay the £25 rate despite the previous Government plans to revert to the previous rate of £8.50.

Rebecca Harris MP said:

“These payments will be automatically made to those who are entitled to them and I am sure that the extra help for the cold weather will make things just that little bit easier.

None the less I would still urge anyone who is concerned about keeping warm or paying their fuel bills during the cold snap to contact the Home Heat Helpline on: 0800 33 66 99 . “