Britain’s consumer price inflation index fell to 4.6 per cent in the 12 months to October, its lowest level in almost two years, meaning the government’s pledge to halve it from 10.7 per cent in late 2022 was achieved well ahead of schedule, to to a big limit. Thanks to lower energy prices.
However, it is still well above the Bank of England’s 2 per cent target, keeping the cost of goods and services high and putting households under pressure heading into the Christmas season.
The arrival of cold weather means turning on the radiators to stay warm while the festive season requires increased spending on food, drink, gifts, decorations and travel at a time many are against, with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) recently reporting that up to two million UK households have found themselves having to separate refrigerator or freezer to keep bills low, warning of “scary” levels of hardship.
The Jordan River Foundation also found that 2.8 million people fell into debt to pay for food, and that one in six respondents to its survey had to use a community “warm room” instead of turning on the power at home, further evidence that the food cost and livelihood crisis continues. Biting.
“The picture is not improving for low-income families even as inflation starts to decline,” said the foundation’s chief analyst, Peter Matic.
“A lot of people are taking out loans to pay for food, selling their possessions and using warm banks to try to get by.”
Since then, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has used his autumn statement to announce a benefit boost and a big increase in state pensions, while also detailing a new crackdown on some welfare claimants.
Here’s a brief overview of the government financial support available to low-income families this winter and the dates when benefit recipients can expect their money to be paid amid the chaos and disruption of the Christmas period.
Benefit dates are affected by holidays
The usual state support in the form of interest and pension payments will be disbursed as always in December, but as Christmas Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day are all public holidays, their delivery dates will change.
Anyone expecting to receive any of the following payments from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on Saturday 23, Sunday 24, Monday 25 or Tuesday 26 December can expect their money on Friday 22 December instead, and anyone expecting to get their money on Saturday 30 Or Sunday, December 31 or Monday, January 1 will be received on Friday, December 29 instead:
- Universal Credit
- State pension
- Trust retirement
- Disability living allowance
- Promote personal independence
- Attendance allowance
- Carer’s allowance
- Employment support allowance
- Income support
- Instead of searching for work
For more information about how and when to pay state benefits, please visit the website Government website.
The next support batch arrives in the spring
Although Rishi Sunak’s energy bill support scheme will end at the end of March this year (an initiative that distributed £400 in monthly installments of £66 and £67), millions of people on low incomes will receive more cost support. Living from the government is worth up to £1,350 in total this calendar year.
Eight million eligible claimants for means-tested benefits – including people on Universal Credit, Pension Credit and tax credits – will soon receive the next £300 installment of a cost-of-living package as part of a program that began this spring, with the money going directly to the public, the program said. Doha works to bank accounts in three tranches.
Total payments will generally be £900.
A separate payment of £150 has already been made to more than six million people with disabilities, and an additional £300 will be paid to more than eight million pensioners this winter.
here Payment windows Which have been announced so far, with more precise dates for final payments expected soon:
- £301 – the first cost of living payment – was already issued between 25 April and 17 May (or 2 to 9 May for people on tax credits but no other benefits for people on low incomes)
- £150 – Disability Payment – issued between 20 June and 4 July
- £300 – second cost of living payment – issued between 31 October and 19 November for most people
- £300 – Pensioner Payment – November 2023
- £299 – third cost of living payment – during spring 2024
The energy price ceiling is expected to fall further next year
The bad and wet weather we experienced in November brought temperatures plummeting, meaning it was no longer possible to delay the moment the central heating was switched on, bringing back uncomfortable memories of last year when home heating bills proved a headache for many over the course of the winter. .
However, the energy crisis that sent electricity and gas prices soaring a year ago has been largely brought under control, and the government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) – introduced by short-lived Prime Minister Liz Truss in September 2022 – has been implemented to ensure people do not have to pay… Households are more than £2,500 short of their power, with the government subsidizing the rest owed to providers under Ofgem’s energy prices cap (EPC) – finally made irrelevant when the cap fell below £2,500 in July.
At that point, with a massive 17 per cent drop from £3,280 in Q2 to £2,074 for Q3 coming into effect, the average consumer was back to paying the cap rate as usual, leading to a similar rise in EPG to £3,000. A harmless technique for most people.
Ofgem has since announced that EPC has been set at £1,923 for the last quarter of this year (or £1,949 for those on prepaid plans) and will then rise slightly to £1,928 (or £1,960 for prepaid) for the first quarter of Year 2024.
The latest drop in prices reflects the recent fall in wholesale energy costs – the amount energy companies pay for electricity and gas before supplying it to households – and although this represents a significant fall on the staggering rates of the past two years, the figure is still around £1,000 a year higher than Pre-pandemic levels.
As for what might happen next, analysts at Cornwall Insight predict Another fall By the time the next EPC is announced for the second quarter of next year, at which point you would expect the typical annual bill to be £1,816.46.
The forecaster then expects another decline followed by a slight rise in the third and fourth quarters.
Overall, the picture appears more stable than it was one year ago, when the effects of the Russian war in Ukraine first appeared on global markets.
The warm house discount is back
Another piece of good news for home energy bills as the longer nights approach is the return of the Government’s Warm Home Rebate Scheme, which was first introduced in 2011 and offers a £150 reduction on domestic electricity and gas bills for eligible recipients.
A one-off discount is automatically applied to your bill Between early October 2023 and 31 March 2024, you are eligible for the scheme if you receive Guarantee the credit component of superannuation credit Or if you are on Low income It has high energy costs.
You can read more about Warm Home Discount eligibility here.