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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
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Vicky Shaw & Lottie Gibbons

DWP confirms new £900 cost of living payment to hit banks in spring

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that millions of households on low incomes will receive fresh cost-of-living support from this spring.

The next round of support for households was previously unveiled in the autumn statement, building on payments made to more than eight million people in 2022.

The new £900 cash support for over eight million eligible means-tested benefits claimants, including people on Universal Credit, Pension Credit and tax credits, starts in the spring and will go directly to bank accounts in three payments, the DWP said.

READ MORE: I visited Matta's for the first time and this is what £10 got me

The £900 payment will be made up of three slightly different amounts, relating to specific qualifying periods, making it simpler to determine if someone has received the correct payments, the department added.

There will also be a separate £150 payment for more than six million people with disabilities and £300 for over eight million pensioners on top of their Winter Fuel Payments.

Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time, the Government said, adding that payments will be spread to ensure consistent support throughout the year.

They will include a first cost-of-living payment of £301 made in spring 2023; a £150 disability payment during summer 2023; a £300 second cost-of-living payment in autumn 2003; a £300 pensioner payment during winter 2023/4; and a third cost-of-living payment of £299 made in spring 2024.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: "We are sticking by our promise to protect the most vulnerable and these payments, worth hundreds of pounds, will provide vital support next year for those on the lowest incomes."

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt added: "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 eight 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.

"Tackling inflation is this Government's number one priority and is the only way to ease the strain of high prices, drive long-term economic growth and improve living standards for everyone."

The Government said payments to those who are eligible will generally be automatic, so there will be no need to apply.

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