Around eight million households will get three Cost of Living payments totalling £900 in the 2023/2024 financial year.
The payments will be made to households on low-income benefits.
The payments follow the £650 of Cost of Living Payments made to the households claiming the same benefits in 2022. In the North East, that is around 400,000 homes.
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Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt said: " I know these are tough times for families across the UK who are struggling to meet rising food and energy costs, driven by the aftershocks of Covid and Putin’s war in Ukraine.
That’s why we’re putting a further £900 into the pockets of over 8 million low income households next year. These payments are on top of above inflation increases to working-age benefits and the Energy Price Guarantee, which is insulating millions from even higher global gas prices."
The DWP has confirmed how the £900 will be paid. It will be split into three instalments between April 2022 and the end of March 2023.
Who will get the £900 Cost of Living Payment
More than eight million benefit claimants will be eligible for the 2023/2024 Cost of Living Payments. Those who qualify for the payments do not need to apply, they will be paid automatically.
To get the £900 payment - which will be split into three instalments - households must be claiming any of the following low-income benefits: Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit and Pension Credit.
If you received any of the £650 of Cost of Living Payments made in 2022, and your circumstances have not changed, you will get the £900, as will those who have registered for the qualifying benefits since.
You will have to be claiming benefits on a qualifying date to get the payments. That date has not been announced yet.
How will the £900 Cost of Living payments be made?
Those who qualify for the 2023/2024 Cost of Living Payments will have the money sent to their accounts from either the DWP or HMRC, depending on the benefits they claim.
The payment will be split into three payments over the course of the financial year, which runs from April 2023 to the end of March 2024.
The first payment will be for £301, the second for £300 and the third for £299.
The DWP says: "The £900 Cost of Living Payment will be delivered in three slightly different amounts. The distinct value relates to a specific qualifying period, so it is simpler to determine if a payee received the correct payments, reducing the fraud risk of people who claim not to have had one of the specific three payments, as DWP and HMRC will be able to clearly track those who have."
When will the £900 Cost of Living payments arrive?
The DWP said exact payment dates will be released later, but it has published a rough schedule for when the payments will be made. All three will be made in the 2023-2024 financial year.
The First Cost of Living payment, for £301, is due in "Spring 2023", the DWP says. As the DWP said payments will all be made in the 2023/2024 financial year, the first sum should be paid after March 31.
The second Cost of Living Payment, for £300, will be paid in Autumn 2023. The third instalment, for £299, will be paid during "Spring 2024". As that payment will be made in the 2023/2024 financial year, it should arrive by March 31 2024.
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