Thousands across Yorkshire may miss out on £650 DWP payments due to five major loopholes

Across the UK people are at risk of losing out on their government cash to help with the cost of living crisis due to five loopholes.

Households in receipt of certain means-tested benefits are entitled to £650 from the government with the first instalment due between June 14 and the end of July. The Work and Pensions Minister David Rutley also said the cost-of-living crisis payments would not take households over the £16,000 savings limit for universal credit if they choose to set it aside for high winter fuel bills, or be subject to the benefit cap.

He has also refused to state when the next payment of the £650 will be made, LancsLive reports. Mr Rutley said: “As far as the second payment, the reason why we are having to be careful in terms of setting out the definitive details on this is because of fraudulent behaviour.

“We certainly saw that with the other payments that were made during the pandemic. So we can’t be as explicit about this as perhaps we might have been now we know the levels of fraud that are going on around benefits.

“But I can assure honourable members that the second payment, the regulations around that, will take place after recess.” Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey had earlier said the Social Security (Additional Payments) Bill, drafted to authorise the payments, will “boost the budgets of millions of stretched families”.

Here are the five loopholes which may mean you do not get the first half of the payment this July.

You need to claim certain benefits

Only those who get means-tested benefits are eligible for the payment. These include:

Jobseeker’s Allowance (Income-based)

Income Support

Employment and Support Allowance (Income-related)

Child Tax Credit

Working Tax Credit

Universal Credit

Pension Credit

Your benefits can not be contribution-based

Contribution-based benefits are those which depend on National Insurance contributions. If you receive these, which include some forms of Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance, you will not be eligible for the £650.

You claim tax credits

People who claim tax credits can still receive the £650, but will not get the payment in July. Those who claim Universal Credit, income-related Employment and Support Allowance and Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, and Pension Credit will receive £326 in July and a second payment of £324 in the autumn.

However, if you receive tax credits you will instead receive the payment in Autumn with a second payment expected in Winter, although no dates have yet been confirmed.

Your benefits must have started by a certain date

You must have been claiming your benefits by a certain date to receive the first instalment. This period is from April 26, 2022 to May 25, 2022.

For Universal Credit, you must have been entitled to a payment, or later found to be eligible, for an assessment period that ended within these dates. This timeframe is only for the first instalment, and includes tax credit claimants.

The deadline for applying for the second payment has not yet been set – so this means thousands of Brits who start a claim at a later date might end up being eligible for the final instalment. The Government has not said when it will release the criteria for the second payment.

Only one payment per household

If you have a claim on the payment and live with a partner who does so too, then your household will only be eligible for £650, not £1,300.

What help you can get if you are not eligible for the £650

There are two other one-off payments being made to vulnerable households. This includes £150 for those who claim certain disability benefits and £300 for pensioners in receipt of Winter Fuel Payments.

Every home in England, Scotland and Wales will also receive £400 off their energy bills, spread out over six months from October. The Household Support Fund has been extended as well by another £500million, to help families who can’t claim any cost of living payments.

Some of the help that is offered through the Household Support Fund includes money towards your bills and supermarket vouchers. However, the support does vary between councils – as well as the eligibility criteria.

This means each local authority decides who to give the money to, and how the money should be spent – so you may face a postcode lottery in terms of the help available to you.