New cost of living payments worth up to £1,350 announced for millions of people next year

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a series of new cost of living payments to help millions of households across the country mitigate soaring inflation and ever-increasing energy bills.

The new cost of living support package is worth £26 billion in 2023-24, in addition to benefits uprating, which is worth £11 billion to working age households and people with disabilities.This means that over eight million households across the UK, will be supported by additional cost of living payments.

The Chancellor also announced that the UK Government will continue to provide support to all households through the Energy Price Guarantee, which caps the price you pay for each unit of energy.This will increase from £2,500 to £3,000 from April and will remain in place for 12 months.

It is expected to save the average UK household £500 in 2023-24.More than eight million UK households on means-tested benefits will receive an additional cost of living payment of £900 in 2023-24.These will be made in more than one instalment.This includes all households receiving the following benefits:The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will issue further details on timings of these payments and eligibility dates in due course.This payment will be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.More than eight million pensioner households across the UK will receive an additional £300 cost of living payment in 2023-24.This is in addition to the means-tested benefit and disability payments, if eligible, which could give them a total income boost of £1,350.The Uk Government said: “Pensioners are disproportionately impacted by higher energy costs, many are unable to