How The Government Are ‘Helping’ With The Cost Of Living Crisis

The cost of living crisis has gotten a little out of control lately. I’ve noticed significant increases in the price of food and we’ve all noticed how much more fuel is costing. And the cost of energy has spiralled uncontrollably. I feel quite privileged that we can just cut back on some savings or frivolity to be able to afford to live. But some people who live pay cheque to pay cheque are having to make decisions between being able to turn on the lights at home, or be able to eat. And frankly it’s not on.

The government pledged to provide £37 billion of support this year to ‘help’ those most in need. The word help is quite ironic as if certain companies just accepted that they’d make less profit and didn’t increase prices as much we could help the cost of living crisis more. But big companies are just greedy.

How the government are trying to ‘help’ with the cost of living crisis

Help with energy bills

All domestic energy customers in Great Britain will get a £400 grant through the Energy Bill Support Scheme. Domestic energy customer just means you’re using energy for a home, and not for a business. So every household in the UK should get this, and it doesn’t matter how many people live in the property. So whether there is one person or ten people in a house the same amount of grant.

The grant doesn’t need to be paid back and will be paid directly to your energy company to offset your bills. It’s set to be split over six months at around £60-70 a month with October being the start month. It might be worth heading to your energy suppliers website to get more information.

Pensioners help with energy bills

Any pension who is eligible to the winter fuel payment will gain an additional sum this year towards energy costs. How much extra is dependant on age and living situation, but it’s generally around £300 additional.

This payment will be made to over 8 million pensioner households. It will be paid at the same time as the annual winter fuel payment due in November/ December. For most this will be paid directly to households and won’t affect eligibility for any other benefits.

Cost of living payment for those on benefits

If your households receive any of the following benefits you may be entitled to a payment of £650 this year:

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

The first instalment would have been made in July and a second one in Autumn. For more information on the exacts of who should receive this payment check out the government website.

Cost of living grant for those with disabilities

Six million people who receive any of the below benefits will be eligible for an extra £150:

• Disability Living Allowance
• Personal Independence Payment
• Attendance Allowance
• Scottish Disability Benefits
• Armed Forces Independence Payment
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• War Pension Mobility Supplement

This payment will be made in September as a one off payment. It will be exempt from tax and won’t count towards the benefit cap or have any impact on existing benefits.

Other things the government are doing to help with the cost of living crisis

• Earlier this year households in council tax bands A-D received a £150 council tax rebate. Most people should have already received this rebate
• The Household Support Fund will provide £1 billion over the financial year to help households who aren’t eligible for help but need support. It can help with essentials such as food, utilities and clothing in England. The money has been distributed to local authorities so contact yours if you need additional support.
• The National Insurance threshold increase started from last month which raised to £12,570. This means that you can keep more of what you earn and is set to save a typical employee over £330 a year.
• From April this year self-employed individuals don’t have to pay Class 2 NICs on profits that fall between the Small Profits Threshold and Lower Profits Limit. What this means is lower-earning self-employed people will get to keep more of their earnings and should help around 165,000 people.
• The government cut fuel duty in March to cut 5 pence per litre off of petrol and diesel but this doesn’t seem to have done much to the price of fuel with it hitting super high rates.

All of these things add up to billions for the government but for individual people and households it really doesn’t seem to have made much of a difference. They are all nice to haves and better than nothing, but with the cost of living continuing to rise- especially for energy- it’s hard to know how some will cope.

How are you coping with the cost of living crisis?

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