A late-December cold snap has triggered cold weather payments in 18 postcodes across the UK, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed. Thousands of households will receive a £25 cash boost as the mercury drops to zero degrees or below this week, with those living in eligible areas likely to see payouts land in their bank in a matter of days. The cold weather scheme runs until March 31 and entitles those eligible to £25 for every seven-day period where the temperature remains at or below freezing.

The regions entitled to the first handout include parts of Northumberland, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders, but anyone can check if their postcode is affected by visiting coldweatherpayments.dwp.gov.uk. To qualify for the benefit, UK citizens must be on certain benefits, including pension credit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance (JSA) or Universal Credit.

Households can also receive the cold weather payments if they are recipients of support for mortgage interest.

Criteria applies for those claiming certain benefits, however, with people on Universal Credit only qualifying if they are unemployed or “gainfully self-employed” and a member of the household as a health condition or disability with limited capacity for work.

Similar requirements are in place for claimants of income support and JSA, including a disability or pensioner premium, having a child who is disabled or having a child who is under five-years-old.

Cold weather payments are not applicable for Scotland, where they have been replaced by the Winter Heating Payment, worth £59.75, and paid regardless of region-specific weather conditions.

The payments are typically made within 14 days of a postcode being activated, with the funds paid directly into bank or building society accounts.

Those who think they should have received the benefit but haven’t can contact the Pension Service or Jobcentre Plus for more information.

The triggering of cold weather payments for 18 parts of the UK has been accompanied by an amber cold health alert for the whole of England, issued by the UK Heath Security Agency (UKHSA) this week.

The UKHSA says the weather will “likely” have significant impacts on health and social care services, including a “rise in deaths” among those with health conditions or aged 65 and above.