United Kingdom (Commonwealth Union)_Households on low incomes will start to receive a £299 cost-of-living payment from Tuesday.
Payments will be made across the United Kingdom by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 6th and 22nd February.
It is the third of up to three payments totalling up to £900 paid to eligible households on means-tested benefits over 2023/24, and comes as a part of the support package which has been helping households since autumn 2021.
Households receiving tax credits only will receive payments from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) between 16th and 22nd February.
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The payments will be automatically sent out and recipients do not need to apply to receive them.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, said that the economy had turned a corner, and with inflation falling he said they were providing millions of the most vulnerable households with another significant cash boost.
John Lamont UK Government minister for Scotland said that this crucial cost-of-living payment will benefit more than 680,000 people across Scotland.
David TC Davies, Welsh Secretary said: “Over 400,000 households in Wales will be receiving this payment directly into their bank accounts to help them with the cost of living.”
The UK Government said it will continue to support vulnerable people with the cost of living from April by uprating benefits in line with inflation by 6.7% and maintaining the triple lock and increasing the state pension by 8.5%, among other measures.
People could check the Help for Households website to see the cost-of-living schemes available.
According to figures released by the Insolvency Service last week, the number of people who needed breathing space from their debts jumped by 25% in 2023 compared with the previous year.
There were 88,390 registered breathing spaces across England and Wales, in 2023, comprised of 86,928 standard and 1,462 mental health breathing space registrations, the Insolvency Service said.
A standard breathing space is available to people with problem debt and offers legal protections from creditor action for up to 60 days.
A mental health crisis breathing space is available to an individual receiving mental health crisis treatment.
It lasts as long as the person’s mental health crisis treatment, plus thirty days.
