Eligible residents across south west Hertfordshire will receive a payment from the government after a cold weather scheme was triggered for the area.

Cold weather payments are made to recipients of selected benefits, and to trigger the payments, the average temperature at a specified weather station (Rothamsted in Harpenden) must be recorded as, or forecast to be, 0°C or below for seven consecutive days.

The money can help pay for rising bills which comes as a consequence of people staying indoors, made worse this year by the lockdown.

How much is the payment?

Due to freezing temperatures locally, anyone living within the districts of Hertsmere, Watford, St Albans, Three Rivers, and Dacorum and who is eligible for the scheme, will receive a one-off payment of £25 for the week February 6 to 12 only.

Generally, the payments work as £25 for each seven-day period of very cold weather between November 1 and March 31.

Who is eligible for a payment?

People may be eligible for cold weather payments if they are getting pension credit, income support, income-based jobseeker’s allowance, income-related employment and support allowance, universal credit, or support for mortgage interest.

They have to be living within a postcode experiencing freezing temperatures at the time.

How do I receive the payment?

An eligible person should get a payment within 14 working days. It is paid into the same bank or building society account as benefit payments.

According to the government website, the payment is made automatically to a person's account if they are eligible.

There may be some circumstances where a person is eligible for the payment but it is not automatically paid.

To find out more about the cold weather payment scheme and eligibility click here.