A number of bonus payments are being issued in January to help low-income households cope with cost of living pressures. Help will be available for millions of people through support schemes.
One of these is the Warm Homes Discount. It knocks £150 off energy bills one time only over winter. The scheme is designed to help those most likely to be worried about heating costs during the cold winter months.
Eligible people include those on the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit and other adults on low incomes with high energy costs. The Government-funded discounts can be applied at any time between October and March, so could happen for some during January.
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Another support scheme is the Household Support Fund, from which hard-up people can apply for cost of living payments, worth around £200 in some areas. Residents can apply to their local council for cash and will have to show they are struggling to afford essentials like food, energy and water. Applicants don’t have to be receiving benefits.
Other money may come in the form of Cold Weather Payments. These are worth £25 for every week of very cold weather and households in some places have already received £50 during the current cold snap which has brought sub-zero temperatures to Britain.
Cold Weather Payments are targeted at the most vulnerable adults to help them cover heating costs, including those on Pension Credit, Universal Support and Income Support. Not everyone will get payments, however.
They are issued locally depending on temperatures recorded at weather stations. Areas where payments have been issued so far include parts of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Northumberland and Cumbria.