HARLOW’S MP, Robert Halfon, has welcomed the news that thousands of Harlow families will be receiving hundreds of pounds of new cost of living payments from the Government over the next few weeks, on top of the support already given. 

The new £900 cash boost for thousands of eligible residents, including those on Universal Credit, Pension Credit and tax credits, starts in Spring and will go direct to bank accounts in three payments over the course of the financial year. There will also be a separate £150 for disabled people and £300 for Harlow pensioners on top of their Winter Fuel Payments.

Exact payment windows will be announced closer to the time, but are spread across a longer period to ensure a consistent support offering throughout the year. They will be broadly as follows:

• £301 – First Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2023
• £150 – Disability Payment – during Summer 2023
• £300 – Second Cost of Living Payment – during Autumn 2023
• £300 – Pensioner Payment – during Winter 2023/4
• £299 – Third Cost of Living Payment – during Spring 2024

This comes on top of a number of other measures being taken to ease the cost of living including:

• The Energy Price Guarantee to cap energy costs, saving the average household around £900 this winter and a further £500 in 2023/24 
• Benefits, including working age benefits and the State Pension, will also rise in line with inflation from April 2023, ensuring they increase by over 10% 
• April will also see the biggest ever cash rise to the National Living Wage (NLW) – a payrise of  £1,600 for those in full time work on the NLW
• Fuel duty frozen again and the Household Support Fund extended to support with food, clothing and bills for vulnerable families
• Cutting National Insurance by £330 this year for Harlow workers alongside changes to the National Insurance threshold to ensure workers keep more of their money – taken together worth £500 for most Harlow workers this year
• Cap on council housing rents saving most tenants £200

All of this is in addition to the support given in 2022 which included:

• A £650 Cost of Living payment for means-tested benefit claimants, split into two payments, each of which supported thousands of Harlow households
• Further £300 and £150 payments, which reached thousands of Harlow pensioners and disabled people respectively
• A £150 Council Tax rebate for all households in Council Tax bands A-D on top of Harlow Council’s £50 Council Tax cut for all households
• A £400 energy bill discount for all households, which will continue to run through March

There are over 40 Government support schemes available to help Harlow families with the cost of living. More details on all of the schemes can be found here: helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk

Commenting on the news, Robert Halfon MP said: “Cutting the cost of living for Harlow families is my number one priority. I know how difficult this time is and I am working hard with the Government to ensure everything possible is done, which is why I strongly welcome this news, which will see hundreds of pounds paid directly into bank accounts of thousands of Harlow families in the coming weeks. 

“I would encourage every resident to see what support is available for them on helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk and to ensure they are receiving the support they are eligible for. I will continue to work hard to support families, pensioners, local businesses and everyone in our community in every way I can and the support the Government is providing will help to do just that.”