Cost of Living Support for Families

The low income benefits and tax credits cost of living payment is a payment of £900 in total, that is to be paid in three instalments in 2023/24 to households on a low income who are entitled to one of the following benefits:

• Universal Credit
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Income Support
• Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Working Tax Credit

The first instalment of £301 was paid for most people between 25 April to 17 May 2023 and required you to have been receiving or entitled to receive one of the above benefits on any day between 26 January 2023 and 25 February 2023. Tax Credits recipients should have received their first instalment between 2 to 9 May 2023.

The second instalment of £300 is due to be paid between 31 October and 19 November 2023 if you were receiving or entitled to receive one of the above benefits on any day between 18 August 2023 and 17 September 2023. Tax Credits recipients should receive the payment between 10 and 19 November 2023.

The third instalment of £299 is due to be paid in spring 2024 for most people.

If you are on Universal Credit, you will not receive the cost of living payment if your earnings reduced your award to £0 for the qualifying assessment period. If you have had other deductions from your award (such as paying back an advance payment or rent arrears) you may still be eligible.

The payments are tax free and should not affect your benefits or the benefit cap. Where possible the payments will be made straight into your bank account that you receive your benefit, so you do not need to apply for it separately.

If you think you should be entitled to the cost of living payment but you have not received it you can report a missing cost of living payment online.

You may be entitled to a disability cost of living payment of £150 if you received a payment for 1 April 2023 of any of the following benefits:

• Attendance Allowance
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Disability Living Allowance for adults
• Disability Living Allowance for children
• Personal Independence Payment
• Adult Disability Payment (in Scotland)
• Child Disability Payment (in Scotland)
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• War Pension Mobility Supplement

The payment was made to most people between 20 June and 4 July 2023. Wherever possible the payment is automatically paid into your bank account so you do not have to apply for it separately. It is tax free and will not affect your benefits or the benefit cap and you will receive it in addition to any other cost of living payments you are entitled to.

If you think you should be entitled to this cost of living payment but you have not received it you can report a missing cost of living payment online.

Some pensioner’s may be entitled to a Pensioner Cost of Living Payment.

If you’re entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023 to 2024, you will get an extra £150 or £300 paid with your normal payment from November 2023.

The full amount of Winter Fuel Payment (including the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment) you will get for winter 2023 to 2024 depends on when you were born and your circumstances during the qualifying dates.

You can get a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023 to 2024 if you were born before 25 September 1957.

You will be sent a letter in October or November telling you how much Winter Fuel Payment you’ll get if you’re eligible.

If you do not get your winter fuel payment you can contact the Winter Fuel Payment Centre to report the missing payment.

The Warm Home Discount provides money off your energy bills if you are on a low income or on certain benefits.

The 2022/23 scheme is now closed, however, the 2023/24 scheme is due to reopen in October 2023.

The following information is for the 2022/23 scheme – we will update this page once the government have provided further guidance for the 2023/24 scheme.

The discount is usually applied to your bill between October and March and was £150 for 2022/23.

The discount is available to people who are getting the guarantee element of Pension Credit and to people on a low income who meet the eligibility criteria.

If you live in England, Wales or Scotland and are getting the guarantee element of Pension Credit you’ll get the discount if on the 21 August 2022 all of the following applied:

• your energy supplier is part of the scheme
• your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill
• you or your partner are getting the guarantee element of Pension Credit

If you live in England or Wales and are on a low income you’ll get the discount if on the 21 August 2022 all of the following applied:

• your energy supplier is part of the scheme
• you (or your partner) get a qualifying means tested benefit
• your property has a high energy cost score based on its characteristics
• your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill

The qualifying means tested benefits are:

• Housing Benefit
• income related Employment and Support Allowance
• income based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• the ‘savings part’ of Pension Credit
• Universal Credit
• Tax Credits (if your income falls below a certain threshold, which depends on your household circumstances)

If you live in Scotland and are on a low income you may get the discount if all of the following apply:

• your energy supplier is part of the scheme
• you (or your partner) get certain means tested benefits
• your name (or your partner’s) is on the bill

How do you get the discount?

If you live in England, Wales or Scotland and you’re getting the guarantee element of Pension Credit you should receive a letter between November 2022 and January 2023 telling you about the discount. You should receive the discount automatically without having to apply for it, although the letter will tell you if you have to call a helpline to confirm your details. The discount will be applied to your electricity bill by 31 March 2023. If you haven’t received a letter by mid January 2023 telling you about the discount and you think you’re eligible you should contact the Warm Home Discount helpline on 0800 107 8002.

If you live in England or Wales and are on a low income you should receive a letter between November 2022 and January 2023 telling you about the discount. You should receive the discount automatically without having to apply for it, although the letter will tell you if you have to call a helpline to confirm your details. The discount will be applied to your electricity bill by 31 March 2023. If you haven’t received a letter by mid January 2023 telling you about the discount and you think you’re eligible you should contact the Warm Home Discount helpline on 0800 107 8002.

If you live in Scotland and are on a low income you will not receive a letter telling you about the discount. Instead you must contact your electricity supplier to apply and your supplier may have additional eligibility criteria you need to meet. Your electricity supplier will decide whether you can get the discount and the number of discounts they can give is limited, so even if you meet the eligibility criteria you may not get the discount. For this reason you should apply as early as possible. You will need to apply again, even if you have had the discount in previous years. If you’re eligible the discount should be applied to your electricity bill by 31 March 2023.

Contact your energy supplier or Citizens Advice for more information.

If you are struggling to pay your energy bills and you use a prepayment metre or you don’t use gas or electricity for your heating (e.g. you use an alternative such as oil, LPG, coal, wood), you may be entitled to a fuel voucher through your local council.

Contact Citizens Advice for further advice on this.

If you are on certain benefits, you may be entitled to a cold weather payment if the temperature in your local area drops to zero degrees celsius or below over 7 consecutive days. You’ll get a payment of £25 for every 7 day period between 1 November and 31 March.

You do not need to apply for the payment as you should receive it automatically, but you must be on certain benefits to qualify.

If you get Pension Credit you should automatically qualify.

If you get any of the following benefits you may be eligible, but you usually need to meet certain conditions in addition to getting the benefit to qualify:

• Income Support
• income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Universal Credit
• support for mortgage interest

Further information and the full eligibility criteria are set out on gov.uk.

If you live in Scotland you may qualify for help through the low income winter heating assistance, child winter heating assistance or the home heating support fund scheme’s. More information on these schemes can be found on the mygov.scot website.

If you’re struggling to pay your gas or electricity bill and are in debt, you could get a grant from your supplier’s hardship fund or energy trust. Or you may be able to get a local energy grant through the Help to Heat website.

The government has provided extra money to local councils in England via the Household Support Fund. This is to help support those who are most in need with the rising cost of food, energy and water bills. Your local council will decide who is eligible for help. You do not necessarily have to be on benefits to get help, but you must be on a low income. Contact your local council for more information and to see if you can get help.

If you are aged 16 or over, are on a low income or getting certain benefits and you are struggling with your living costs you might be able to get help through the Scottish Welfare Fund.

There are different types of grant you may be eligible for depending on your circumstances:

Crisis Grant to help with unexpected emergencies such as needing immediate help with food or heating costs, if your home is damaged by flood or fire, if you are facing a gap in your income due to benefit or work changes, if you are a domestic abuse victim and need help to move away from your abuser, if you lose money or if an unexpected crisis occurs.

To be eligible you do not have to be on benefits, but you must be on a low income. Contact your local council to apply and for more information.

Community Care Grant to help you or someone you care for live a settled life in the community. You may qualify for the grant if you are a care leaver, leaving prison, or you’ve been homeless and need help to start a settled home, or if you need help to stay out of care or you’re escaping domestic abuse or a child is at risk.

To be eligible you do not have to be on benefits, but you must be on a low income. You are less likely to qualify if you have savings over £700 (or £1,200 if you get a pension). Contact your local council for more information and to apply.

There are two types of grants available under the Discretionary Assistance Fund:

Emergency Assistance Payment (EAP). If you are experiencing extreme financial hardship, have lost your job, or are waiting for your first payment of benefits you may be able to get help through the EAP scheme to help pay for essential costs such as food, gas, electricity, clothing or emergency travel.

To qualify you must be aged 16 or over, live in Wales and be in a crisis and in need of immediate financial support. You also must have no savings or other money you can use to support yourself and must have considered all other legal lenders such as credit unions.

From 1 April 2023 you can only get help through the EAP scheme a maximum of 3 times within any 12 month period.

Check the eligibility criteria on gov.wales to see if you qualify and to apply.

Individual Assistance Payment (IAP). If you or someone you care for needs help to live independently you may get help through the IAP scheme for white goods (e.g. cooker, fridge, washing machine etc) or furniture (e.g. bed, sofa, chair etc). You can only apply for white goods and furniture through an approved partner.

To qualify you must be aged 16 or over, live in Wales and have no other access to money. You will not qualify if you live in a care home, are in prison or are a member of a fully maintained religious order. You must also be on a qualifying benefit, and have either left care or need help to prevent you going into care, be setting up home after an unsettled way of life, need to move quickly due to a relationship breakdown or domestic violence, or be a carer for a prisoner or young offender released on a temporary license.

Check the eligibility criteria on gov.wales to see if you qualify and to apply.

You may be eligible to receive a Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP) if your council decides that you need extra help to meet your housing costs. You can only get it if you are entitled to Housing Benefit or the housing element of Universal Credit. Your council will review your circumstances to assess eligibility, and will make a decision as to whether to give you a DHP, how much you will be paid and for how long you will receive the payment.

You may be given a DHP to cover housing costs, such as:

• a rent shortfall, for example, as a result of welfare reforms
• rent deposits or rent in advance if you need to move home

How to claim will depend on your local council. You need to check with your council if you can apply online, by downloading an application form from their website or by phoning them.

You may be eligible for help with health costs, such as prescriptions, glasses and dental treatment.

You qualify for free prescriptions if you get Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits with a disability element (or both), and have income for Tax Credit purposes of £15,276 or less. If you’re on Universal Credit you qualify for free prescriptions if you earn £435 a month or less, or £935 if you get a child element or have limited capability for work.

Even if you don’t qualify for free prescriptions, if you have a low income, you may be able to get help with NHS costs through the NHS Low Income Scheme (LIS). You’ll need to complete a HC1 form to assess your eligibility. This can be completed online or by post. See the NHS website for more details.

In England free school meals are available to all children in reception, year 1 and year 2. This is a universal scheme for all children in these year groups in state run schools, so you do not have to be on benefits or on a low income to qualify.

In Scotland free school meals are available to all children between reception and year 5. This is also a universal scheme for all children in these year groups in state run schools, so you do not have to be on benefits or on a low income to qualify.

In all parts of the UK, children in year 3 and above may qualify for free school meals if you are in receipt of one of the following benefits:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• The guarantee element of Pension Credit
• Child Tax Credit (only if your gross annual household income is no more than £16,190 and you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit – England and Wales)
• Universal Credit (only if your household income is less than £7,400 a year after tax, not including benefits, at the time you apply. If your income increases you will continue to remain eligible provided you are still receiving Universal Credit – England and Wales)
• Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, plus, from 19 April 2022, those with no recourse to public funds (subject to specified income and capital thresholds)

In Scotland you can qualify for free school meals if you receive Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit, provided your income is under £8,717. If you’re on Universal Credit you’ll qualify if your household income is less than £726 a month.

The End Child Food Poverty website has lots more information about free school meals and a useful tool to check your eligibility.

Contact your local council to apply for free school meals.

You may be entitled to help with school uniform costs depending on your circumstances and where you live.

In England, you might be able to get help with the cost of school uniform through your local council, however, not all council’s provide this help. You should check with your own council to see if help with school uniform costs is available. If your council does not provide this help, they may be able to signpost you to other organisations in your local area who can help. Your child’s school may provide low-cost second-hand uniforms or there may be other local organisation’s that run second-hand uniform schemes. Your local Citizens Advice may be able to signpost you to organisations offering school uniform schemes in your area.  

In Scotland, you may be able to get a school clothing grant to help with the cost of school uniforms. This is a cash grant of £120 per child of primary school age, and £150 per child of secondary school age. Check with your local council whether you are eligible and how to apply.

In Wales, you may be entitled to a school essentials grant to help with the cost of school uniform if you are on a low income and claiming certain benefits. You can claim a grant of £125 per learner and £200 per learner entering year 7. Additionally, all looked after children will qualify regardless of whether they receive free school meals of not. Contact your local council to find out if you are eligible and to apply.

If you are on certain benefits and are on a low income you may be able to get your home telephone and/or broadband cheaper through a social tariff. These are cheaper packages that your provider may offer to people on benefits. You will need to check if your provider has a social tariff and whether you are eligible.

There are lots of trusts and charitable organisations that provide grants to families on a low income. The grants are usually very specific to your particular circumstances and may only be given for certain things. The best way to find out if you are eligible for any grants is to use the grants search tool on the Turn 2 Us website. You can narrow the search down by telling the grants search tool more about yourself.

Food banks are community organisations that can help you if you can’t afford the food you need. You will usually need a referral to a food bank before you can use it, although some food banks may let you self-refer. If you need a referral you can ask your nearest Citizens Advice, local council or any other local charity to support you.

If you live in England and have a child aged 2 you might be entitled to 15 hours free childcare a week during term time if you are on a low income and getting certain benefits, or if your child has additional needs.

In Scotland you might get 30 hours free childcare a week during term time for your 2-year-old if you are on a low income and getting certain benefits, if your child has additional needs, or if you as a parent have experience of care.

If you live in Wales you might get 12.5 hours of free childcare a week during term time if you have a child aged 2 and you live in a Flying Start area.

In England all 3 and 4 year-old children are entitled to 15 hours of free childcare a week during term time. There are no work or earnings requirements and you do not need to be claiming benefits to be eligible. Some 3 and 4 year-olds of working parents are entitled to an addition 15 hours of free childcare taking their total entitlement up to 30 hours a week during term time.

In Scotland all children aged 3 and 4 are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare a week during term time. There are no work or earnings requirements and you do not have to be on benefits to get the free childcare.

In Wales some working parents with children aged 3 and 4 are entitled to up to 30 hours free childcare a week during term time. The 30 hours is made up of 10 hours a week of early education and a maximum of 20 hours a week of childcare. The amount of free childcare you can get depends on what your local council offers. You can check your eligibility on gov.wales.

The Childcare Element of Working Tax Credit – If you are working and claiming Tax Credits you may be eligible for help with up to 70% of your childcare costs through the childcare element of Working Tax Credit. The childcare must be registered or approved and you must usually work at least 16 hours a week to qualify.

The Childcare Element of Universal Credit – If you are working and claiming Universal Credit you may be eligible for help with up to 85% of your childcare costs through the childcare element of Universal Credit. The childcare must be registered or approved and must be needed to enable you to work.

Tax-Free Childcare – If you are not entitled to either Tax Credits or Universal Credit and are working, you may be eligible for help with childcare costs through Tax-Free Childcare. This is a government scheme that pays 20% of your childcare costs, up to a maximum of £500 every 3 months (£1000 if your child is disabled). The childcare must be registered or approved and you must usually work at least 16 hours a week to qualify.