Residents of East Lothian and Midlothian are set for cold weather payment

A cold weather payment alert has been issued for parts of the Lothians following the freezing temperatures recorded between December 28 and January 3.

It means people who are eligible for additional payments through their current benefits should see an extra £25 paid into their accounts if they live in the following postcode areas: EH21, EH22, EH31, EH32, EH33, EH34, EH35, EH36, EH37, EH39, EH40, EH41, EH42.

These include households in Dalkeith, Dunbar, Haddington, Humbie, Musselburgh, North Berwick, Pathhead, Prestonpans and Tranent.

People who are eligible for the payment will already be receiving benefits such as pension credit, jobseekers’ allowance, income support, employment or support allowance and Universal Credit.

Although residents in the area have been advised to note that Cold Weather Payments are different to Winter Fuel Payments.

The payment alert was triggered by the weather station at Gogarbank, Edinburgh, which covers up to 23,000 households which are eligible for payment should the temperature fall for an entire week.

The scheme, which runs from November to March, had not seen a single trigger from any weather station up to December 18, according to its most up-to-date figures released.

Those who qualify should receive the payment automatically and the scheme runs from November to March, with payments triggered by reports from weather stations.

To check if your area qualified for the payment, go to coldweatherpayments.dwp.gov.uk

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