DWP cost of living payment update as households told 'you will be contacted'

Grants worth hundreds of pounds will be available from local councils

Households have been sent an update about special cost of living payments. Money will be available from local councils this winter for low-income residents in need of help.

Councils distribute cash from the Household Support Fund to residents struggling to afford basic essentials. A message has been sent to those in Birmingham who applied for £200 payments from the Household Support Fund in September and have not yet received any cash.

The city council has informed them they are on a waiting list and should be contacted over the next few weeks. The city council said in a message to residents: "On September 2, the DWP announced that the Household Support Fund will be extended from October 2024 to March 2025.

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"Any hardship grant requests received near the end of the current funding period, which ended on September 30, 2024, are now on a waiting list. If you have submitted a successful enquiry and are on the waiting list, you will be contacted within the next four weeks to complete your full application.

"Make sure your voicemail is on so we can leave a message if we miss you, and that your phone can receive calls from private or withheld numbers." People struggling to pay their bills can apply directly to their local council for support.

Hundreds of pounds are potentially available though councils pay different amounts across the country. The fund is opening again for the winter and payments should start being made from November in most areas.

Check your local council's Household Support Fund pages online for more details.