Reduce the time required to qualify for Cold Weather Payments

45
signatures
closedDepartment for Work and PensionsOpened 10 March 2025Closed 10 September 2025

Background

I want the time it takes to qualify for the payments to reduce to 4 days.

Additional details

Partly due to our variable climate, and climate change, we may have shorter, sharp cold spells with milder weather in between. I think elderly and disabled people may struggle as it takes 7 days to qualify for this support. Currently, those eligible get a payment if the average temperature in their area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees Celsius or below over 7 consecutive days, and this doesn't happen that often. The cost of heating our homes is so high that even when temperatures hit below zero, many people may be put off heating it to keep warm, potentially leading to deaths and preventable illness. This ultimately can have a big knock-on effect for the NHS.

Where it’s popular

Constituencies with the most signatures on this petition.

Source: UK Government & Parliament Petitions service. Petition ID: 713852.