Latest update on £650 cost of living payment – are you eligible for cash where you live?

EIGHT million households are just weeks away from getting up to £1,200 free cash to help with the cost-of-living crisis.

The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has now revealed exactly how many people will get the £650 payment and which areas of the country are set to benefit most.

Some 1.22million households in London are set to benefit from the payment, accounting for 15% of those who receive the money, it said.

That’s followed by the north west of England, accounting for 13% of the payments, and the south east and West Midlands, at 10% each.

The £650 was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of a package of measures to help families on Universal Credit and other benefits through the current crisis.

He revealed that every household in the UK would receive £400 to help with soaring energy bills and more.

But extra payments will be made to low-income and vulnerable households.

This includes £650 to those on means-tested benefits, an extra £150 one-off disability payment, and a £300 one-off payment to low income pensioners.

The households most in need could receive £1,200 in total from the -payments.

While the Government had previously said eight-million households across the country would get the payment, it has now revealed exactly which regions will benefit most.

While Londoners will get the greatest number of payments, other regions across the UK are not far behind.

More than a million payments of £650 will be made to households in the North West, 846,000 in the South East, and 792,000 in the West Midlands.

Northern Ireland accounts for just 4% of payments, with 309,000 receiving the money, and 426,000 in Wales.

At a constituency level, residents of Barking will benefit most from the money, with 24,900 made in the London borough.

Some 16,200 households in Batley and Spen in West Yorkshire will get the cash, and 16,100 in Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester.

For the £150 disability cost of living payment, the greatest proportion of payments (13%) are set to be made in the North West, where 820,000 will receive the cash.

Some 681,000 households in the South East will get the money, and around 607,000 in both Scotland and London.

Northern Ireland and the North East of England will receive the smallest proportion of payments, accounting for 5% – or around 325,000 households – each.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey said: “With millions of the lowest-income households soon seeing the first of two cash instalments land into their bank accounts, we are taking action to directly help families with the cost of living.

“This one-off payment totalling £650 is part of our £37 billion cost of living support package that will put an extra £1,200 into the pockets of those most in need.”

How do I get the £650 cost of living payment?

You don’t need to apply for the payment – if you qualify, it will be paid automatically into the account you usually receive your benefits.

The £650 payment will be given out in two chunks, the first £326 will be paid on July 14 and the remaining £324 will arrive in the autumn.

Those receiving tax credits rather than Universal Credit may have to wait an extra month for the money though.

The DWP said this was to avoid any duplicate payments.

To be eligible you must be in receipt of one of the following on the qualifying date:

• Universal Credit
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit
• Child Tax Credit
• Pension Credit

Those receiving one of these on May 25 (or who had put in a claim that goes on to be successful by then) will get the first instalment.

The DWP said it would confirm the eligibility date for the second instalment soon.