People who claim benefits and other Government support will see some changes this week.
Those on Universal Credit, Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance will be affected by the changes. Deadlines will also come into place for the use of the Household Support Fund and paper notes.
The cost of living crisis sparked a huge benefits package, announced by the Government earlier this year. In June, officials announced a £37b support package to help vulnerable households, reports KentLive.
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It included some eight million people getting £1,200 of one-off support in total this year to help with the cost of living - and all domestic electricity customers receiving at least £400. Here is a round-up of the changes, payments and deadlines you can expect to see this week.
Administration Earnings Threshold
From Monday, September 26, onwards around 114,000 people on Universal Credit will be moved from the "light touch" work group to "intensive work search". This is due to a planned increase in the Administration Earnings Threshold (AET). The AET determines which "work group" you’re placed in - this then has an impact on if you’re required to look for more work. The rate is being increased from £355 a month to £494 a month, or from £567 a month to £782 a month for joint claims, from September 26. Read more about this here.
Cost of living disability payment
Six million disabled people were supposed to get their £150 cost of living payment from Tuesday, September 20. But there was a delay in the rolling out of the benefit due to "operational issues" due to the Queen's Funeral which was also a bank holiday.
A DWP spokesman said people will be paid by the start of October. They added: "If you are eligible for the £150 disability cost of living payment, you do not need to contact us as payments are made automatically. The vast majority of payments will be made by early October."
People on Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance are among those who qualify - but Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) is not included. People on income-related ESA were due to get a separate £324 payment in July. You must have received a payment - or later receive a payment - of one of these qualifying benefits by May 25, 2022 to get the cost of living cash.
People who receive any of the following disability benefits will receive a one-off £150 payment: Attendance Allowance, Constant Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance for adults, Disability Living Allowance for children, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland), Child Disability Payment (in Scotland), Armed Forces Independence Payment, or War Pension Mobility Supplement. These payments will begin being sent out on September 20, with most people receiving the payment at the start of October.
Cost of living second payment
The second instalment of the £650 cost of living payment will be paid to anyone receiving Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and Income Support and Pension Credit. The DWP has not yet released an exact date for the £324 payment but says they will update people as soon as they can.
Friday, September 30 - Household Support Fund deadline
Also, councils have until Friday, September 30, to spend or "commit" to spend the remainder of the extra £500m that was put into the Household Support Fund. The support available is decided by each individual council, as well as the eligibility criteria. Some of the help that is offered through the Household Support Fund includes cash or credit towards your bills and supermarket vouchers.
Friday is also the last day for people to get an accurate reading for their energy use before the price hike.
Friday, September 30 - Last day to spend paper £20 and £50 notes
This Friday will also see The Bank of England withdrawing the legal tender status of old paper £20 and £50 notes after September 30, 2022. You can still spend these banknotes in stores before this date, or you can deposit them at your bank or the Post Office.
If you're trading them in, your old paper notes will be replaced with new plastic polymer versions. If you miss the September 30 deadline, you can still swap your old banknotes for new polymer versions at the Bank of England. Some banks will also still continue to accept old notes after September.
Correction: A previous version of this article reported that second cost of living payment had been confirmed to be sent out from 1 October. This was incorrect. The DWP have advised that there is 'no update on the £324 payment yet, but we’ll definitely let people know as soon as we can'. We are happy to clarify this.
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