Nearly 400,000 North East families waiting for the first of this year's of cost of living living payment can expect it to start arriving from next week.
The £301 payment is the first part of the £900 Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) support package announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt during November’s Autumn Statement and will be paid to Universal Credit claimants from Tuesday, April 25.
This is the second year that eligible families will be paid cost of living payments from the DWP. Last year, they received a total of £650 paid in two instalments in July and November, and many concerned people took to social media at the time wondering when they did not receive their payment on the first day due.
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Around 395,000 eligible people in the North East should receive the money, with payments due to be completed by May 17. A DWP spokesperson said that he was unable to narrow down the exact payment dates within the three-week window but confirmed that the two previous payments of £326 and £324 last year were mostly made within the first week and a half after the first possible date.
The DWP could not confirm how the payments will be spread out within the three-week payment window this time round, although it warned at the time of last November's payment that only "a small number" would be paid on the first day, with "numbers increasing significantly" from the second day onwards.
The last date for payments for those in receipt of Universal Credit will be May 17, with the dates for families in receipt of Tax Credits and other eligible legacy benefits starting a week later on May 2 until May 9, to avoid duplicate payments if families are transferring to Universal Credit.
More than 8m people in the UK received the £650 cost of living payment last year. The Government has refused to release exact dates when the second and third payments will hit people's bank accounts, just Autumn 2023 and Spring 2024. But as it has already stated that payments will all be made in the 2023/2024 financial year, the last sum should be paid before April 5, 2024.
Mel Stride, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said: “These payments will give a financial boost to more than 8m households as we continue to wrap our arms around the most vulnerable, while the best way we can protect people from high costs is to halve inflation by the end of this year. In the long-term, we know work is the best route out of poverty, which is why we recently announced additional Work Coach support to help more people find work or increase their hours. Anyone looking to boost their skills or progress their career should speak to their work coach to ensure they’re accessing all the support the DWP can provide.”
There will also be a separate £150 for over 6m disabled people nationwide and £300 for another 8m pensioners on top of their Winter Fuel Payments to help them meet their energy bills coming later this year.
According to the DWP, which first announced its plan to issue the £900 on January 3, The £301 payment will be sent out automatically and directly to recipients, meaning those eligible do not need to apply or do anything to receive it. The payment reference for bank accounts will be DWP COLP, along with the claimant’s National Insurance number.
In a small minority of complex circumstances, claimants may be paid automatically after May 17 – for example, if they were deemed unable to claim certain benefits, but won backdated entitlement on appeal, or where payments were rejected due to invalid account details. The DWP says it will seek to contact claimants directly where there are issues or delays.
To be eligible for the payment, you need to have been entitled to a payment for one of these benefits between 26 January and 25 February 2023, or payment for an assessment period ending between these dates:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
The payment will be made separately from your benefit and the date your benefit is due will have no bearing on the date your cost of living payment arrives.
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