Cost of Living Payment 2023 to 2024 management information
Updated 22 February 2024
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Introduction
The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a package of measures on 17 November 2022 worth £26 billion to support people in the financial year 2023 to 2024 with cost of living pressures.
The announced package includes Cost of Living Payments (referred to as ‘additional payments’ in the Social Security (Additional Payments) Bill 2023) of up to £900 for households on eligible means-tested benefits. A separate £300 payment will be made to pensioner households and individuals in receipt of eligible disability benefits will receive a £150 payment.
The means-tested benefit Cost of Living Payment of up to £900 is being made in three payments, for families in receipt of one of the following means-tested benefits during the qualifying periods:
- Universal Credit
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Income Support
- Working Tax Credit
- Child Tax Credit
- Pension Credit
The Disability Cost of Living Payment is a £150 payment for individuals being paid one of the following disability benefits on the qualifying date:
- Disability Living Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Scottish Disability Benefits
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- War Pension Mobility Supplement
The Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of up to £300 will be paid as an increase to Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023 to 2024.
There are 3 payments to recipients of means-tested benefit:
- one of £301 paid during spring 2023
- one of £300 paid during autumn 2023
- one of £299 paid by spring 2024
Each payment is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to families in receipt of DWP administered means tested benefits, and by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for families in receipt of tax credits only.
There is one payment to recipients of qualifying disability benefits, paid during summer 2024 by DWP and Ministry of Defence (MOD) for eligible individuals.
This publication will be updated as new payments are paid, with ongoing updates throughout each payment period. Read the timetable for the Cost of Living payments.
Not all payments will be made immediately. For some of the qualifying benefits, entitlement may not have been established at the time the payments are made. If an entitlement that would qualify for a payment is later established to have existed, a payment will then be issued at that time.
Means-tested benefits Cost of Living Payment, first payment
| Number | Spend (£millions) | |
|---|---|---|
| Payments processed by DWP on 25 April 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 26 April 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 27 April 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 2 May 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 3 May 2023 | 900,000 | 300 |
| Total payments processed by DWP | 7,300,000 | 2,200 |
| Total payments processed by HMRC | 900,000 | 300 |
| Total payments processed as of 16 May 2023 | 8,300,000 | 2,500 |
Notes for first payment tables:
- number of payments rounded to nearest 100,000. Spend is rounded to nearest £100 million
- a small proportion of automated payments may fail (for example, the customer has closed their bank account), but DWP and HMRC have robust processes in place to ensure that all eligible claimants will receive their payments, with manual workarounds in place if necessary. Payments that failed to be processed in the initial automatic batches may not be fully reflected in the numbers above
- due to the possibility of retrospective entitlement to the qualifying benefits, it may be that a lower number of families than estimated in DWP’s Impact Assessment receive the cost of living payments immediately, as, over time, more families will establish entitlement
- as of 3 May 2023, over 99% of DWP claimants already eligible for the first means-tested benefits Cost of Living payment have had their payments processed
Disability Cost of Living Payment
| Payments by DWP | Number | Spend (£millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Payments processed by DWP on 20 June 2023 | 1,600,000 | 200 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 21 June 2023 | 1,600,000 | 200 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 22 June 2023 | 1,600,000 | 200 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 23 June 2023 | 1,600,000 | 200 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 26 June 2023 | 100,000 | 0 |
| Total payments processed by DWP | 6,400,000 | 1,000 |
Notes for Disability Cost of Living Payment table:
- number of payments rounded to nearest 100,000. Spend is rounded to nearest £100 million
- a small proportion of automated payments may fail (for example, the customer has closed their bank account), but DWP have robust processes in place to ensure that all eligible claimants will receive their payments, with manual workarounds in place if necessary. Payments that failed to be processed in the initial automatic batches may not be fully reflected in the numbers above
- due to the possibility of retrospective entitlement to the qualifying benefits, it may be that a lower number of families than estimated in DWP’s Impact Assessment receive the cost of living payments immediately, as, over time, more families will establish entitlement
- as of 26 June 2023, over 99% of DWP claimants already eligible for the disability Cost of Living payment have had their payments processed
Means-tested benefits Cost of Living Payment, second payment
| Number | Spend (£millions) | |
|---|---|---|
| Payments processed by DWP on 31 October 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 1 November 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 2 November 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 3 November 2023 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 7 November 2023 | 1,100,000 | 300 |
| Total payments processed by DWP | 7,500,000 | 2,200 |
| Total payments processed by HMRC | 800,000 | 300 |
| Total payments processed as of 17 November 2023 | 8,300,000 | 2,500 |
Notes for second payment table:
- number of payments rounded to nearest 100,000. Spend is rounded to nearest £100 million
- a small proportion of automated payments may fail (for example, the customer has closed their bank account), but DWP and HMRC have robust processes in place to ensure that all eligible claimants will receive their payments, with manual workarounds in place if necessary. Payments that failed to be processed in the initial automatic batches may not be fully reflected in the numbers above
- due to the possibility of retrospective entitlement to the qualifying benefits, it may be that a lower number of families than estimated in DWP’s Impact Assessment receive the cost of living payments immediately, as, over time, more families will establish entitlement
- as of 7 November 2023, over 99% of DWP claimants already eligible for the second means-tested benefits Cost of Living payment have had their payments processed
Pensioner Cost of Living and Winter Fuel Payments
| Number of payments | Estimated number of households | Total spend (£millions) | Pensioner Cost of Living Payment spend (£millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total payments processed as of 19 December 2023 | 11,900,000 | 8,900,000 | 4,800 | 2,700 |
Notes for pensioner table:
- numbers cover all the UK
- total spend includes both Winter Fuel Payment spend and Pensioner Cost of Living Payment spend
- number of payments and households rounded to nearest 100,000
- spend is rounded to nearest £100 million
- a small proportion of automated payments may fail (for example, the customer has closed the account), but DWP have robust processes in place to ensure that all eligible claimants will receive their payments, with manual workarounds in place if necessary. Payments that failed to be processed in the initial automatic batches may not be fully reflected in the numbers above
- as Winter Fuel Payment is a household benefit that can be paid individually, it is not possible to determine the exact number households paid. Estimates have been made based on spend
- as of 19 December 2023, over 99% of claimants already eligible for the Pensioner Cost of Living payment have had their payments processed
Means-tested benefits Cost of Living Payment, third payment
| Number | Spend (£millions) | |
|---|---|---|
| Payments processed by DWP on 6 February 2024 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 7 February 2024 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 8 February 2024 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 9 February 2024 | 1,600,000 | 500 |
| Payments processed by DWP on 13 February 2024 | 1,200,000 | 400 |
| Total payments processed by DWP | 7,600,000 | 2,300 |
| Total payments processed by HMRC | 700,000 | 200 |
| Total payments processed as of 22 February 2024 | 8,300,000 | 2,500 |
Notes for third payment table:
- number of payments rounded to nearest 100,000. Spend is rounded to nearest £100 million
- a small proportion of automated payments may fail (for example, the customer has closed their bank account), but DWP and HMRC have robust processes in place to ensure that all eligible claimants will receive their payments, with manual workarounds in place if necessary. Payments that failed to be processed in the initial automatic batches may not be fully reflected in the numbers above
- due to the possibility of retrospective entitlement to the qualifying benefits, it may be that a lower number of families than estimated in DWP’s Impact Assessment receive the cost of living payments immediately, as, over time, more families will establish entitlement
- as of 13 February 2024, over 99% of DWP claimants already eligible for the third means-tested benefits Cost of Living payment have had their payments processed
Total payments and spend 2023 to 2024
Payments by DWP
| Payments by DWP | Number | Spend (£m) |
|---|---|---|
| Means tested benefits Cost of Living Payment, first payment | 7,300,000 | 2,200 |
| Disability Cost of Living Payment | 6,400,000 | 1,000 |
| Means tested benefits Cost of Living Payment, second payment | 7,500,000 | 2,200 |
| Pensioner Cost of Living and Winter Fuel payments | 11,900,000 | 2,700 |
| Means tested benefits Cost of Living Payment, third payment | 7,600,000 | 2,300 |
| Total payments processed by DWP | 40,800,000 | 10,400 |
Payments across government
| Number | Spend (£m) | |
|---|---|---|
| Total payments processed by DWP | 40,800,000 | 10,400 |
| Total payments processed by HMRC | 2,500,000 | 700 |
| Total payments processed as of 22 February 2024 | 43,200,000 | 11,100 |
Notes for total payments and spend tables
- number of payments rounded to nearest 100,000. Spend is rounded to nearest £100 million
- a small proportion of automated payments may fail (for example, the customer has closed their bank account), but DWP and HMRC have robust processes in place to ensure that all eligible claimants will receive their payments, with manual workarounds in place if necessary. Payments that failed to be processed in the initial automatic batches may not be fully reflected in the numbers above
- due to the possibility of retrospective entitlement to the qualifying benefits, it may be that a lower number of families than estimated in DWP’s Impact Assessment receive the cost of living payments immediately, as, over time, more families will establish entitlement
Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:
- trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
- quality – is about using data and methods that produce statistics
- value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs
The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.
Trustworthiness
The figures were created following interest from DWP ministers and the Members of Parliament. They are being published now in order to give equal access to all those with an interest in them. To ensure equal and timely access they will be updated throughout each payment period.
Quality
The data that underpins this information is taken directly from DWP, and HMRC and MOD payment systems.
The information used refers to gross payments and vouchers as per notes above
Value
Releasing this information serves the increased public interest in how the government is supporting the public through the cost of living crisis. The figures also help reduce the administrative burden of answering Parliamentary questions, Freedom of Information requests and other forms of ad hoc enquiry and serves public.
Further information and feedback
Lead Statistician: Steve Ellerd-Elliott
Analyst: Paul Crust
For media enquiries please contact the DWP press office.