Over eight million families in the UK will continue to receive direct financial assistance from the government. 

A full breakdown of the Cost of Living and Disability Payment recipients by the local authority and parliamentary constituency has been released.

After confirming the payment schedule for five costs of living payments through the 2023/24 fiscal year, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) announced today in Parliament additional information regarding the assistance.

This section includes estimates of the number of people across the UK and each local authority and parliamentary constituency receiving the £301 Cost of Living Payment and the £150 Disability Payment in 2022. These payments will replace up to £1,200 in support for low-income households in 2022.

Mel Stride, Work and Pensions Secretary, stated: “These direct payments will assist people throughout the UK for the remainder of this year and the beginning of next year as we continue to provide consistent, targeted, and substantial assistance to the most vulnerable.”

“Our comprehensive support package, which includes the Energy Price Guarantee, will ensure that every household is assisted during this difficult period of high inflation caused by Putin’s illegal war and the pandemic’s aftershocks.” Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, added: “High inflation, exacerbated by Putin’s illegal war, harms global economies and impoverishes people.”

“These payments are the next phase of the substantial support we provide during this difficult time.”

Exact payment windows and eligibility periods will be announced later, but they are designed to ensure a consistent support offer throughout the year. The payment windows will resemble the following:

  • First Cost of Living Payment for 2023/24: £301 in Spring 2023
  • £150 – 2023 Disability Payment during Summer 2023
  • £300 – Second Cost of Living Payment for 2023/24 – paid in autumn 2023
  • £300 – 2023 Pensioner Payment – during Winter 2023/4
  • Third Cost of Living Payment for 2023/24: £299 in Spring 2024

Several benefits could qualify claimants for the £301 Cost of Living Payment, including Universal Credit, tax credits, and Pension Credit, which is expected to be paid to 1.4 million pensioner households.

There is no need for eligible individuals to apply for payments because they are made automatically. This is in addition to the government’s broader support package, which includes additional funding for the Household Support Fund, bringing its total value from October 2021 to March 2024 to more than £2 billion. 

The fund is distributed to councils, who know their local communities best and can provide direct assistance to the most in-need residents. Every household with a domestic electricity supply also benefits from the Energy Price Guarantee, which caps energy costs and saves the average household £900 this winter and £500 in 2023/24.

Benefits will also increase in line with inflation from April, resulting in a 10.1% increase for pensioners and those with the lowest incomes, while the National Living Wage will see the most significant cash increase to date, reaching £10.42 per hour.

All of this stems from the support package for 2022, which included the following:

  • A £650 Cost of Living Payment for means-tested benefit recipients split into two payments that supported over eight million households per payment.
  • Additional payments of £300 and £150, which reached over eight million pensioner households and six million disabled individuals, were made.
  • A Council Tax rebate of £150 for all English households in bands A to D
  • £400 discount on energy bills for households will last until March 2023.