Low-income households to receive Cost of Living Payment worth £299 from today

Qualifying households across Stockport and the UK will start to receive a £299 Cost of Living Payment from today until 22 February as part of the Government’s £104 billion Cost of Living support package.

The payment will be sent out automatically and recipients do not need to apply to receive it. This includes tax credits-only customers who will receive the payment from HMRC between 16 and 22 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 part of a support package that has helped millions of households since autumn 2021.

The Government believes that supporting people into well paid jobs is the best way to help people out of poverty and to give people long term financial independence. It is hoped their £2.5 billion Back to Work Plan will offer intensive support to those unemployed, while the Chance to Work Guarantee will mean disabled people can try work free from the fear that they could lose their benefits.

The Cost of Living Payments – worth £900 in total – are in addition to previous support in the form of the £150 Warm Home Discount this winter and a payment to pensioner households of up to £600 in Winter Fuel Payments in December last year.

The Cold Weather Payments scheme for vulnerable households to help them with their energy bills during winter runs from 1 November 2023 to 31 March 2024 – providing low-income households with an automatic payment of £25 following periods of cold weather.

We encourage people in need of additional support over winter to check their eligibility through the Help for Households website for the various Cost of Living schemes that are place.