Who gets what?
Energy Bills Support Scheme doubled to a one-off £400:
Households will get £400 of support with their energy bills through an expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
As well as doubling the £200 of support announced earlier this year, the full £400 payment will now be made as a grant, which will not be recovered through higher bills in future years.
Energy suppliers will deliver this support to households with a domestic electricity meter over six months from October. Direct debit and credit customers will have the money credited to their account, while customers with pre-payment meters will have the money applied to their meter or paid via a voucher.
This support will apply directly for households in England, Scotland, and Wales. It is GB-wide and we will deliver equivalent support to people in Northern Ireland.
£650 one-off Cost of Living Payment for those on means tested benefits:
More than 8 million households on means tested benefits will receive a payment of £650 this year, made in two instalments. This includes all households receiving the following benefits:Universal Credit
Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
Income Support
Working Tax Credit
Child Tax Credit
Pension Credit
DWP will make the payment in two lump sums – the first from July, the second in the autumn. Payments from HMRC for those on tax credits only will follow shortly after each to avoid duplicate payments.
One-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment
Pensioners are disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs, and many low-income pensioner households do not claim the means tested benefits they are entitled to.
So pensioner households will receive an extra £300 this year to help them cover the rising cost of energy this winter.
This additional one-off payment will go to the over 8 million pensioner households across the UK who receive the Winter Fuel Payment and will be paid on top of any other one-off support a pensioner household is entitled to, for example where they are on pension credit or receive disability benefits. Eligible households currently receive between £200 - £300, so the payment will represent at least double the support for this winter.
The Winter Fuel Payment (including the extra Pensioner Cost of Living Payment) is not taxable and does not affect eligibility for other benefits.
All pensioner households will get the one-off Pensioner Cost of Living Payment as a top-up to their annual Winter Fuel Payment in November/December. For most pensioner households, this will be paid by direct debit.
People will be eligible for this payment if they are over State Pension age (aged 66 or above) between 19 – 25 September 2022. There are certain circumstances where an individual above State Pension age does not qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment which can be found here on gov.uk [
https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility]
£150 Disability Cost of Living Payment
Around six million people across the UK who receive the following disability benefits will receive a one-off payment of £150 in September:
Disability Living Allowance
Personal Independence Payment
Attendance Allowance
Scottish Disability Benefits
Armed Forces Independence Payment
Constant Attendance Allowance
War Pension Mobility Supplement
For the many disability benefit recipients who receive means tested benefits, this £150 will come on top of the £650 they will receive separately.
£500m increase and extension of Household Support Fund
To support people who need additional help, the Government is providing an extra £500 million of local support, via the Household Support Fund, which will be extended from this October to March 2023.
The Household Support Fund helps those in most need with payments towards the rising cost of food, energy, and water bills.
The government will issue additional guidance to Local Authorities to ensure support is targeted towards those most in need of support, including those not eligible for the Cost of Living Payments set out on 26 May 2022