This afternoon, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a range of measures to help families with the rising fuel costs. These include:

 

A £400 non repayable grant for households

  • 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.

 

£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.

 

One-off £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment

  • 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. 

 

£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 more information about the package of support announced by the Chancellor, you can read the UK Government’s  Cost of Living Factsheet