Nearly 400,000 families are expecting to be £324 better off this week, as the long-awaited second cost of living payment is distributed by the Department of Work and Pensions.
Although the DWP have admitted that only a "small number" of people waiting for the last part of the £650 payment will receive it on the first day, payments are due to start on Tuesday, with "numbers increasing significantly" from Wednesday onwards. All payments to those on Universal Credit are are due to be made by November 23 and f amilies in receipt of Tax Credits and other legacy benefits will get their money from November 23-30.
Figures released by the DWP show that a total of 8.2 million households - or nearly one in four in the UK - will receive the £650 Cost of living Payment in full. This amounts to a total cost of £5.4 billion. In the whole of the North East region, including Teesside, 397,000 people are due to receive the second payment.
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Around 45,400 families living in Newcastle are due to get the payment, with the highest concentration in Newcastle Central, where 19,100 households are eligible to receive the money. The constituency with the lowest eligibility is Hexham, where only 5,500 families are in receipt of the benefits needed to be able to get the payment.
The full list of of eligible claimants by parliamentary constituency in the North East is as follows:
Berwick-upon-Tweed: 7,600
Bishop Auckland: 13,400
Blaydon: 10,900
Blyth Valley: 11,800
City of Durham: 9,800
Easington: 15,200
Gateshead: 17,000
Hexham: 5,500
Jarrow: 12,600
Newcastle upon Tyne Central: 19,100
Newcastle upon Tyne East: 13,800
Newcastle upon Tyne North: 12,500
North Durham: 13,100
North Tyneside: 16,100
North West Durham: 12,800
South Shields: 15,500
Sunderland Central: 17,200
Tynemouth: 10,900
Wansbeck: 11,600
Washington and Sunderland West: 14,900
The first payment of £326 was made to most claimants in July, and many concerned people took to social media when they did not receive their payment on the first day due, leading to the DWP this time warning people that only a few people will be paid on Tuesday.
To get the money, you must have claimed one of the following benefits between August 16 2022 to September 25 2022:
- Universal Credit
- income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Income Support
- Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Working Tax Credit
The cost-of-living payment is made separately from your benefit payments, with the payment date of your benefit having no bearing on the date that you receive your cost of living payment.
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