Households receiving certain DWP benefits will receive the second part of the £650 Cost of Living Payment from 8 November and continuing through to the 23 November.
Over 8 million families in the UK and 8,700 families in North East Bedfordshire have already received the first Cost of Living Payment, worth £326, which was sent out from 14 July this year. The second Cost of Living Payment of £324, to be received in November, is part of £1,200 support package for millions this year.
The second payment will automatically be paid into the bank accounts of those eligible in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who receive a qualifying benefit, meaning they will not need to do anything to receive the money.
This payment comes on top of extensive government support with the cost of living this winter, including around 6 million disabled people having been paid a separate £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, whilst over 8 million pensioner households will receive an extra one-off £300 Winter Fuel Payment this year. This is in addition to an extension to the Household Support Fund, which is providing an extra £421 million for use between October and March to help vulnerable people with the essentials. As well as this, a £150 Council Tax rebate was sent earlier this year to those in Council Tax bands A to D in England, creating a total of at least £1,200 in direct support for millions.
A £400 reduction on energy bills is also being given to all domestic electricity customers over the coming months, and a new ‘Energy Price Guarantee’, which means from 1 October a typical UK household will save an average of £1,000 a year based on current energy prices.
For more information on help with energy bills, please visit Richard's 'Support with the Cost of Energy' Hub here.
Richard Fuller MP said:
We know that people have been worried about their bills ahead of this winter, which is why the government has taken action to hold down energy bills, saving the typical household an average of around £1,000 a year, and provided £1,200 of targeted support to the most vulnerable, which includes around 8,700 families in North East Bedfordshire.
