Full list of DWP payments worth £1,630 that millions could receive by Christmas

UK households are set to receive a series of payments - most of them one-off but some potentially given out multiple times - this winter. Many could receive the cash by Christmas to help them keep warm and cover essential costs.

Families, pensioners, disabled people and carers are all in line for the extra financial support to help fill the gap left by cutbacks to the Winter Fuel Payment and the rise in the Ofgem price cap. Between October 1 and December 31, the regulator has set the cap at £1,717 per year for a typical household that uses electricity and gas and pays by direct debit. This change in tariffs is an increase of £149 or 10 per cent compared with the cap of £1,568 that was in place from July 1 to September 30.

All this comes as the weather gets colder and darker, hastened by the clocks going back at the end of October which has brought forward sunrise and sunset by an hour. The combined effect means bigger bills for many and the worry of how to afford them. Although inflation is now relatively low at 2.2 per cent, and petrol prices have fallen, many essential living costs such as food, energy, water, housing and TV/internet packages remain high.

READ MORE:

• Six ways to get energy support and reduce bills after Winter Fuel Payment cuts
• Councils set up their own Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners after cuts

The DWP is no longer making direct cost of living payments to help low-income households. The last of these payments was in February 2024 and the government says there are no plans for any more.

With that in mind, households in need of extra cash are urged not to fall for scam texts asking for personal and financial details to claim government allowances for winter heating or the cost of living, as these are all bogus. BirminghamLive has seen screenshots of many of these fraudulent offers of help on our Cost of Living Facebook group and is advising people not to respond.

Instead, the Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and councils across England are offering a series of other payments to low-income households this winter and we have detailed them all below.

Winter Fuel Payment: up to £300

Labour has restricted the annual payment so that only those on Pension Credit and some other means-tested benefits qualify. The DWP says an estimated 880,000 pensioners are eligible for Pension Credit but are not claiming it and is trying to increase take-up, as anyone who successfully claims by December 21 will be able to get the Winter Fuel Payment.

People can qualify for the payment in Winter 2024/2025 if they were born before September 23, 1958 - meaning they were at least pension age by September 23 this year - and live in England or Wales while receiving one of seven benefits. These are Pension Credit, Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), Income Support, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.

You should get £200 if you were born between September 23, 1944, and September 22, 1958. Those born before September 23, 1944, and are therefore aged 80 or above, qualify for the higher level of £300.

Letters advising eligible people how much they will receive are being sent from mid-October. The DWP says most payments are made automatically in November or December.

Warm Home Discount: £150

The Warm Home Discount provides a one-off £150 rebate on households' electricity bills. You can ask for it to be applied to your gas bill instead if you get both from the same energy firm. Eligible households automatically receive this payment if they receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, or are on another DWP low-income benefit and have high energy costs (as calculated by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero which now administers the scheme).

These other qualifying benefits include the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), income-based Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), Universal Credit, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit.

Most qualifying households will receive a letter from the DWP confirming their eligibility between November and January. The payment is then made directly to the household's energy account between November and March.

DWP Christmas Bonus: £10

Each year, the DWP hands out a one-off tax-free £10 payment just before Christmas. Critics say the amount is the same as when it was introduced in 1972 but there have been no moves to increase it.

The bonus is paid automatically into the bank accounts of those eligible. To qualify, you must reside in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar during the qualifying week, which is usually the first week of December, and receive at least one of the following benefits.

These are Adult Disability Payment, Armed Forces Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, Child Disability Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes), Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim), Disability Living Allowance and Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate.

Also eligible are Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers), Mobility Supplement, Pension Credit guarantee element, Personal Independence Payment (PIP), State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit), Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected), Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes), War Disablement Pension at State Pension Age, War Widow's Pension, Widowed Mother’s Allowance, Widowed Parent’s Allowance or Widow's Pension.

Those who have deferred claiming their State Pension and are not entitled to one of the other qualifying benefits will not get the Christmas Bonus. People who are married, in a civil partnership, or cohabiting and who receive one of the qualifying benefits are each entitled to receive a Christmas Bonus. Payments are usually made in early December.

Household Support Fund: up to £500

People are also being urged to check if they can claim money or vouchers from their local council this winter. The Household Support Fund is targeted at the most vulnerable households and is typically used to help them with the cost of essentials like groceries, toiletries, and energy bills.

The Government has added a further £421 million to the pot this year so it can run for another six months until the end of next March and is also investing another £1 billion to continue it beyond then into the next financial year. The cash is shared among local authorities across England to distribute to constituents most in need, with the DWP urging councils to set some aside for pensioners who are above the threshold for Pension Credit and therefore set to miss out on the Winter Fuel Payment under its new rules.

Councils decide how to spend their allocation. Some offer direct payments, others provide vouchers, appliances or other support. People can get up to a maximum of around £500, depending on which council is dealing with the fund in their area.

For instance, Coventry City Council is offering help with gas, electricity, oil and water costs with PayPoint top-ups or vouchers up to three times per customer over the six months from October to March - single people or childless couples can get help worth £120, while families can receive £160. Meanwhile, Birmingham City Council is offering hardship grants of £200 from early November to help with food and energy costs, with the payouts handled by Birmingham Voluntary Service Council.

Cold Weather Payment: £25 per payment

The Cold Weather Payment is a £25 sum handed out every time your local weather station records the average temperature in your area as zero degrees Celsius or below over seven consecutive days - or forecasts it to be so. If you're eligible, you'll receive the payment automatically. There's no limit on the number of payments you can get and in previous years some have had three amounts, totalling £75, if there has been a series of bitterly cold blasts hitting their postcode area.

Although weather-dependent with no guarantees of payouts, the scheme is now open and will run from November 1 until the end of March. The benefits that may qualify are Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Support for Mortgage Interest. You usually also need to be receiving a disability or pensioner premium on top of your benefit or have a disabled child or a child under five on their claim.

After each period of bitterly cold weather in your area, you should receive a payment within 14 working days. It's paid into the same bank or building society account as your benefit payments with your National Insurance number alongside it followed by the identifying code DWP CWP for people in England and Wales.

Child Winter Heating Payment: £251.50

This payment is to help disabled children and young people and their families with increased heating costs over winter. Some pensioners could also benefit from it if they are the legal guardians of a child who qualifies.

The Child Winter Heating Payment is distributed to Scottish residents and is this year providing £251.50 to help with energy costs. People can be eligible for the payment if they live with a child or young person under 19 who is entitled to either the highest rate of the care component of Child Disability Payment (CDP) or Disability Living Allowance (DLA), or the enhanced rate of the daily living component of Adult Disability Payment (ADP) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP). To be eligible, individuals must have been claiming one of these benefits during the qualifying week of September 16-22, 2024.

Social Security Scotland has confirmed payments started arriving in eligible households' bank accounts in October and will continue this month.

Winter Heating Payment: £58.75

The Winter Heating Payment is available to people in Scotland who qualify for certain benefits, such as Pension Credit and Universal Credit. This year, the payment is worth £58.75.

The payment is Scotland's replacement for the Cold Weather Payment but does not depend on temperatures dropping to freezing. It is made in a single instalment between mid-December and February 2025.

Carer's Allowance Supplement: £288.60

The Carer's Allowance Supplement is an extra payment made to unpaid carers in Scotland to recognise their contributions. Social Security Scotland automatically makes it twice a year, with the next sum due in December.

Scots are eligible for this payment if they were in receipt of Carer Support Payment or Carer's Allowance on October 7, 2024. People who are due a payment will get a letter from Social Security Scotland beforehand.

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