The Department for Work and Pensions has temporarily suspended cost of living payments.
The DWP said that it had paid out the £301 to 4.8m households in total this month. The DWP paid out 1.6 million sums of £301 each day on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week. Eight million low-income families are due the money overall.
But on Thursday evening the department told claimants that there would be no payments made on Friday - reports Birmingham Live.
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In a social media message the Department said: "The next set of payments will be made on Tuesday, May 2, and we will update again when these have been made." It also said: "If you’ve not received yours, don’t worry - payments will continue to be made up to May 17."
The change is likely to be due to the upcoming bank holiday weekend even though today is a normal working day.
Benefit recipients who qualify for the cost of living payment are those who get one of the following: Universal Credit, Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Working Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Pension Credit.
The qualifying period for this payment is January 26 to February 25, 2023. People on Universal Credit need to have had an assessment period that ended between those dates and received a UC payment from it. Those on the other eligible benefits must have received a benefit payment between those dates.
The vast majority of all those eligible should receive it before the end of next week, before the Coronation bank holiday weekend, the DWP assured people. It further stated that there is "no particular order" to the payout, dismissing claimants' speculation that it is based on an A-Z of people's surnames, National Insurance numbers, or on which benefit they receive.
The payment reference for bank accounts will be DWP COL, along with the claimant's National Insurance number. Those who only receive tax credits will have to wait until May 2 to 9 to receive their £301 payment, which will appear in accounts with HMRC COLS as an identifying code.
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