Millions of UK households will begin receiving cost-of-living payments from the government on Tuesday as high inflation continues to bite.
Some 8mln households will begin receiving the first of three £301 payments to help with high living costs, with the first round of the scheme set to be completed by 17 May.
Payments will be made automatically by the Department for Work and Pensions to eligible families which claimed certain benefits between 26 January and 25 February.
Eligible benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Pension Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
“The best thing we can do to help people’s money go further is deliver on our priorities to halve inflation and grow the economy,” chancellor Jeremy Hunt said.
“But we’re also here to help people through these tough times [by] giving £900 payments to low-income and vulnerable families - all in part funded through windfall taxes on energy profits.”
Hargreaves Lansdown finance head Sarah Coles commented that the payments would be "a shot in the arm" for millions "who have been wrestling with rising prices for such a long time now, and have only just seen their benefits rise with inflation".
People should be wary of scams though, she said, or even falling between the cracks and not receiving payments, with the requirement to be eligible for benefits between January and February likely to make it difficult for some people to claim.
"Whenever the government sets rules like this, there will be some people who fall out at the margins, but when you’re in this position it can feel horribly cruel," Coles said, adding grants were offered by the likes of Shell PLC (LSE:SHEL, NYSE:SHEL), E.ON and British Gas to help people with energy bills.