UK households are set to receive a series of payments – most of them one-off but some potentially given out multiple times – this winter. Many could receive the cash by Christmas to help them keep warm and cover essential costs.
Families, pensioners, disabled people and carers are all in line for the extra financial support to help fill the gap left by cutbacks to the Winter Fuel Payment and the rise in the Ofgem price cap. Between October 1 and December 31, the regulator has set the cap at £1,717 per year for a typical household that uses electricity and gas and pays by direct debit.
This change in tariffs is an increase of £149 or 10 per cent compared with the cap of £1,568 that was in place from July 1 to September 30. All this comes as the weather gets colder and darker, hastened by the clocks going back at the end of October which has brought forward sunrise and sunset by an hour.
The combined effect means bigger bills for many and the worry of how to afford them. Although inflation is now relatively low at 2.2 per cent, and petrol prices have fallen, many essential living costs such as food, energy, water, housing and TV/internet packages remain high.
The DWP is no longer making direct cost of living payments to help low-income households. The last of these payments was in February 2024 and the government says there are no plans for any more, reports Birmingham Live.
Households in need of extra cash are being warned not to fall for scam texts asking for personal and financial details to claim government allowances for winter heating or the cost of living, as these are all fraudulent. BirminghamLive has seen many of these bogus offers on our Cost of Living Facebook group and advises people not to respond.
Instead, the Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and councils across England are offering a series of other payments to low-income households this winter. These include the Winter Fuel Payment: up to £300.
Labour has restricted the annual payment so that only those on Pension Credit and some other means-tested benefits qualify. The DWP estimates that 880,000 pensioners are eligible for Pension Credit but are not claiming it and is trying to increase take-up.
Anyone who successfully claims by December 21 will be able to get the Winter Fuel Payment. People can qualify for the payment in winter 2024/2025 if they were born before September 23, 1958 – meaning they were at least pension age by September 23 this year – and live in England or Wales while receiving one of seven benefits.
These are Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.
If you were born between September 23, 1944, and September 22, 1958, you should be eligible for £200. Those born before September 23, 1944, and are therefore aged 80 or above, qualify for the higher level of £300.
Letters advising eligible people how much they will receive are being sent from mid-October. The DWP says most payments are made automatically in November or December.
The Warm Home Discount provides a one-off £150 rebate on households’ electricity bills. You can request it to be applied to your gas bill instead if you get both from the same energy firm.
Eligible households automatically receive this payment if they receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or are on another DWP low-income benefit and have high energy costs (as calculated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, which now administers the scheme).
These other qualifying benefits include the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit. Most qualifying households will receive a letter from the DWP confirming their eligibility between November and January.
The payment is then made directly to the household’s energy account between November and March.
The DWP Christmas Bonus amounts to £10.
Every year, the DWP provides a one-off tax-free £10 payment just before Christmas. Critics argue that the amount has remained the same since its introduction in 1972, with no efforts made to increase it.
The bonus is automatically deposited into the bank accounts of those who are eligible. To qualify, you must live in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week, typically the first week of December, and receive at least one of the following benefits.
These include Adult Disability Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Carer’s Allowance, Child Disability Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes), Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim), Disability Living Allowance and Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate. Also eligible are Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers), Mobility Supplement, Pension Credit guarantee element, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit), Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected), Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes), War Disablement Pension at State Pension Age, War Widow’s Pension, Widowed Mother’s Allowance, Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Widow’s Pension.
Those who have deferred their State Pension claim and are not eligible for other qualifying benefits will not receive the Christmas Bonus. Individuals who are married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting and receiving one of the qualifying benefits are each entitled to a Christmas Bonus.
Payments are typically made in early December. .
The Household Support Fund is also available, offering up to £500 to the most vulnerable households to assist with essential costs such as groceries, toiletries, and energy bills. People are being encouraged to check if they can claim money or vouchers from their local council this winter.
This year, the Government has added an additional £421 million to the fund, allowing it to run for another six months until the end of next March. Furthermore, an investment of £1 billion has been made to extend it into the next financial year.
The funds are distributed among local authorities across England to help those most in need. The DWP is urging councils to reserve some funds for pensioners who are above the Pension Credit threshold and therefore likely to miss out on the Winter Fuel Payment under its new rules.
Councils have the discretion to decide how to allocate their funds. Some offer direct payments, others provide vouchers, appliances or other support.
Depending on the council managing the fund in their area, people can generally receive up to a maximum of around £500.
For example, Coventry City Council is offering assistance with gas, electricity, oil and water costs through PayPoint top-ups or vouchers up to three times per customer over the six months from October to March. Single people or childless couples can receive help worth £120, while families can get £160.
On the other hand, Birmingham City Council is providing hardship grants of £200 from early November to assist with food and energy costs, with the payouts managed by Birmingham Voluntary Service Council. The Cold Weather Payment is a £25 sum given out every time your local weather station records the average temperature in your area as zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days – or predicts it to be so.
If you’re eligible, you’ll receive the payment automatically. There’s no limit on the number of payments you can receive and in previous years some have had three amounts, totalling £75, if there has been a series of bitterly cold blasts hitting their postcode area.
The scheme, which is weather-dependent and does not guarantee payouts, is now open and will run from 1 November until the end of March. The benefits that may qualify include Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and Support for Mortgage Interest.
In addition to your benefit, you usually need to be receiving a disability or pensioner premium, or have a disabled child or a child under five on your claim. After each period of severe cold weather in your area, you should receive a payment within 14 working days.
It’s paid into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments, with your National Insurance number followed by the identifying code DWP CWP for people in England and Wales. Child Winter Heating Payment: £251.50.
This payment is designed to assist disabled children and young people and their families with increased heating costs over winter. Some pensioners could also benefit from it if they are the legal guardians of a child who qualifies.
The Child Winter Heating Payment, which provides £251.50 to assist with energy costs, is available to Scottish residents. Eligibility for this payment extends to those living with a child or young person under 19 who is entitled to either the highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment (CDP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment (ADP) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
To qualify, individuals must have been claiming one of these benefits during the week of September 16-22, 2024. Social Security Scotland has confirmed that payments began appearing in eligible households’ bank accounts in October and will continue throughout this month.
The Winter Heating Payment, worth £58.75 this year, is available to Scots who qualify for certain benefits, such as Pension Credit and Universal Credit. This payment, which replaces the Cold Weather Payment, does not rely on freezing temperatures and is made in a single instalment between mid-December and February 2025.
The Carer’s Allowance Supplement, an additional payment of £288.60 made to unpaid carers in Scotland to acknowledge their contributions, is automatically distributed twice a year by Social Security Scotland, with the next payment due in December.
Scots who were receiving Carer Support Payment or Carer’s Allowance on October 7, 2024, are eligible for this payment. Those due a payment will receive a letter from Social Security Scotland in advance.
Stay updated with breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp and join our dedicated community for the latest updates. More information can be found in our daily Money Saving Newsletter, which provides all the necessary updates on pensions, PIP, Universal Credit, benefits, finances, bills, and shopping discounts.
