Millions of the poorest UK households are to be given £326 from July 14 to help combat rising costs of living. The UK Government has confirmed it will make the payments, the first of two cost of living instalments totalling £650, to around eight million people next month amid rising prices across the board.
The initial instalment will be £326 with the rest to follow in a second payment in the autumn. A date for the second payment has yet to be finalised. It comes as part of £37bn package from the UK government to help families cope with the ongoing cost of living pressures.
Last month chancellor Rishi Sunak announced all households in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will get £400 to offset rising costs of living. All households who have a domestic electricity connection will be automatically eligible for the grant (though if your bills are included in your rent it will go to your landlord) and will get the money in October. There is also £650 for people on benefits, £300 for pensioners, and £150 for disabled people.
Read more: All the financial support you can get in Wales if you're struggling to pay the bills
How will I get my first payment?
The first instalment of the £650 for qualifying low-income households in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland will land in bank accounts from July 14 with payments continuing to the end of the month. The £326 payment will be made automatically into your bank account so you don't need to do anything in order to get it. This has been confirmed by Mr Sunak who has already said: "There is no need for people to fill out complicated forms… we will send the money straight to their bank accounts."
How do I know if I am eligible?
The government’s guidance states that the payment will be given to more than eight million households on means-tested benefits, including those receiving the following:
- Universal credit
- Income-based jobseeker's allowance
- Income-related employment and support allowance
- Income support
- Working tax credit
- Child tax credit
- Pension credit
Claimants will need to be receiving one of these benefits or have begun a successful claim as of May 25, 2022. The payment will be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.
When will I get the second payment?
The second instalment of £324 will be sent to qualifying low-income households in the autumn with a date yet to be confirmed. The UK Government said the payments are designed to be deliberately slightly unequal to minimise fraud risks from those who may seek to exploit the system.
UK work and pensions secretary Thérèse Coffey said: "With millions of the lowest-income households soon seeing the first of two cash instalments land into their bank accounts we are taking action to directly help families with the cost of living. This one-off payment totalling £650 is part of our £37bn cost of living support package that will put an extra £1,200 into the pockets of those most in need."
In May the UK Government also announced expanded support for the household support fund – which helps people with food and energy bills – with an extra £421m on top of £79m for devolved nations. Fuel duty has also been cut by 5p per litre for 12 months since March and alcohol duty has been frozen for 2022-23.
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