Millions to get cost-of-living payment in April

With inflation still sky high in the UK, millions of people are set to get the next cost-of-living payment next April.

Though the weather might be getting (slightly) warmer, necessities like housing and food are at record highs, meaning households need all the help they can get right now.

Over the past year, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has paid out up to £1,200 to those on benefits and low incomes to attempt to help with rising costs.

The same is planned for this year through to 2024, with the figure rising to £1,350 depending on a household's situation, as announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt during November's Autumn Statement.

This includes a £900 cash boost for over eight million people on benefits, including those on Universal Credit, Pension Credit and tax credits.

The first payment will be £301, and the DWP has now confirmed this will be paid between 25 April and 17 May.

A second payout of £300 is expected in autumn this year, while the third totalling £299 will reportedly reach bank accounts in spring 2024.

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Meanwhile, there will be a separate £150 for over six million disabled people in summer and an extra £300 for over eight million pensioners in winter on top of their Winter Fuel Payments.

Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said: "We are sticking by our promise to protect the most vulnerable and these payments, worth hundreds of pounds, will provide vital support next year for those on the lowest incomes.

"The government’s wider support package has already helped more than eight million families as we continue to deal with the global consequences of Putin’s illegal war and the aftershocks of the pandemic."

Hunt added: "I know these are tough times for families across the UK who are struggling to meet rising food and energy costs, driven by the aftershocks of Covid and Putin’s war in Ukraine.

"That’s why we’re putting a further £900 into the pockets of over eight million low income households next year.

"These payments are on top of above inflation increases to working-age benefits and the Energy Price Guarantee, which is insulating millions from even higher global gas prices."

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Despite the additional assistance, many people and organisations feel it's not enough to make a dent in the situation facing Brits right now, with prices soaring at record rates.

Stuart Bretherton from Fuel Poverty Action told the BBC: "The government has been recycling funding announcements and generally this amount just mops around the edges of what people are really facing.

"We want radical reform for energy pricing so that no-one falls below their minimal energy needs."

And in response, a spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net said that they understood that this was a 'difficult time for families' which is why 'the government is covering around half of the typical household's energy bill'.

They added that the best way to tackle fuel poverty was to 'improve energy efficiency in homes'.