The need for cost of living payments under review

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is to carry out a full evaluation of the cost of living payments after charities and campaign groups – including us – voiced fears about the lack of support going forward for low income households.

The review will determine how effective the payments were and whether more cost of living support is needed with the price of essentials still remaining high.

It comes after the Work and Pensions Committee said it believed the cost of living payments ‘were not a sufficient response to the scale of the issue and many people in receipt of the payment could not meet essential costs or only had a temporary reprieve.’

The findings of the investigation will be made available later this year.

However, the government has said it has no current plans to reintroduce cost of living support, with Jeremey Hunt stating on 15 February that ‘the economy was turning a corner.’

There were three different cost of living payments – one for people on low incomes, one for pensioners and one for those getting disability benefits, with some households eligible for £1,350 in total. Most received £900 in total - distributed in three payments of £301, £300 and £299 - straight into their bank accounts.

The final instalment was paid out last week (February 22).

Anyone who believes the are eligible for this payment and who hasn’t received it are now being urged to get in touch with the DWP. It is estimated around 77,000 could have missed out on the payment and be owed it.

Benefit claimants will see their payment rise by 6.7% from April, in line with the consumer price index (CPI) of inflation from September 2023.

And retirees will see their pensions increase by 8.5% thanks to the triple lock guarantee – meaning they’ll get an extra £901 a year.