The second instalment of the GBP 650 Cost of Living Payment was paid in November 2022 to households on means-tested benefits, completing a support measure announced in May 2022. The payment was split into two parts: GBP 326 issued earlier in the year and GBP 324 paid in November1.
The scheme formed part of the third support package against rising energy prices announced in May 2022, described by the International Energy Agency as a GBP 650 one-off targeted payment for 8 million low-income households, delivered in two instalments in July 2022 and November 20222. Advice NI states that the second part, amounting to GBP 324, was paid automatically to most people between 8 and 23 November, with payments to those on Tax Credits made a little later1.
Eligibility for the low income payment covered people receiving Universal Credit, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Pension Credit, and Child or Working Tax Credit1. Claimants needed to be in receipt of a qualifying benefit during a specified period1.
Two further payments ran alongside it. People in receipt of disability benefits received an additional GBP 150, with entitlement assessed on 25 May 20221. Pensioners received an extra GBP 300 top-up to the Winter Fuel Allowance, paid as part of the standard allowance, with most payments made automatically during November and December1.
Separately, the Energy Bills Support Scheme provided a GBP 400 credit on electricity bills, credited in six roughly equal monthly instalments and available to every household regardless of income1. Advice NI reported that households in Northern Ireland would begin to receive this support from November1. The Energy Price Guarantee restricted unit prices that could be charged for electricity and gas for two years from 1 October 2022, with average unit prices of 10.3p/kWh for gas and 34p/kWh for those on standard tariffs, and slight differences for prepayment customers1.
"The second part, amounting to £324, will be paid automatically to most people between 8 and 23 November"
Why it matters for households
The November instalment completed a targeted transfer aimed at households whose energy costs had risen sharply. Advice NI reported that average bills were about GBP 1,000 higher than a year earlier, which is the context in which the payment was made1. For a household on a means-tested benefit, the GBP 324 arrived automatically, without an application, and could be set against a bill or used to clear arrears. The payment was a one-off cash transfer rather than a change to the unit price a household pays, so it did not alter the underlying cost of the energy a home uses. The Energy Price Guarantee, by contrast, capped the unit prices suppliers could charge, which affected every unit of gas and electricity consumed over the two-year period from 1 October 20221. The GBP 400 Energy Bills Support Scheme credit was universal and delivered through suppliers, so it reached households regardless of income1. Taken together, the measures combined a broad reduction in unit prices with targeted cash for those on the lowest incomes.
What happens next
Advice NI states that support for non-domestic customers under the Energy Bills Relief Scheme was likely to shift to more targeted support to organisations most in need from April 2023, and that equivalent baseline figures for Northern Ireland had not yet been determined1. It also notes that, beginning in 2023, Tax Credits claimants would be required to move their claim to Universal Credit1. The delivery method for the additional GBP 100 of support for households not on the gas network, such as home heating oil customers, had not been set out at the time1.
Households in England can find further information in the guide to help for low-income households in England, and households in Northern Ireland in the guide to help for low-income households in Northern Ireland. The grants and schemes hub and the homes and audiences hub carry related material.
Sources2 cited
- Cost of living - what can I do about it? | Advice NI, adviceni.net
- Cost of Living Payment – Policies - IEA, iea.org