April 2024, date for Universal Credit and benefits as living cost payments end

As the cost-of-living crisis persists, millions of people continue to struggle to pay bills, buy necessities, or even make ends meet.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s spring budget brought a number of changes aimed at boosting household incomes, including a 2p National Insurance tax cut, changes to child benefit and an extension to the Family Support Fund.

However, some experts are concerned that the chancellor’s new measures unfairly benefit higher earners. According to the Resolution Foundation thinktank, the NI cuts will benefit most those earning £50,000 a year or more.

The government’s latest annual figures on low-income households also paint a bleak picture of the UK’s economic situation. Data show that the absolute poverty rate has increased for two consecutive years, with nearly 1 million more people living in poverty in 2022/23 than in 21/22.

Inflation fell to 3.4% in March (the lowest level since late 2021), indicating a positive shift in the economy. But this does not mean that prices will return to the levels of two and a half years ago, but they will rise more slowly.

In these difficult economic circumstances, here is an overview of the financial support available to low-income households this April and the key dates for benefit recipients to be aware of:

Welfare goes out as usual

Usual benefit and pension payments will be made largely as normal in March. all these are:

However, if your payment date falls on Good Friday (March 29) or Easter Monday (April 1), you should expect to receive your payment on the last Thursday in March (March 28).

For more information on how and when state benefits are paid, please Visit government website.

A report by Policy Practice last year showed that nearly £19 billion in benefits goes unclaimed every year – and they Provides useful calculators Find out what you may be entitled to.

Are you affected by the issues in this story? Contact via email: albert.toth@independent.co.uk

family support fund

In the Spring Budget, Jeremy Hunt confirmed that the Home Support Fund (HSF) would be extended by six months beyond the original March 31 deadline.

HSF provides funding to all local councils to support vulnerable families in their area. City councils are free to allocate funds however they think is best.

For example, some offer cash grants, supermarket vouchers or energy bill assistance. You’ll need to visit your local council’s website to see what help is still available.

To find out what support you can get, charity End Furniture Poverty offers Useful help finder.

Other help available

loan advance budget

The government offers “budget advance loans” for people who are on Universal Credit but face an emergency shortfall. Prior to the budget, the repayment period for these loans was 12 months. It has now doubled to 2 years.

These loans are interest-free and are automatically deducted from Universal Credit payments. You can “pre-borrow” up to:

Charitable funding

If you are struggling financially, you may be eligible for certain charitable grants. There are a variety of grants available depending on your specific situation.

However, these grants often require you to meet specific criteria and can only provide limited funds.

Charitable grants are available to disabled or sick people, caregivers, bereaved, unemployed, students, etc.Charity Turn2us has an online tool to search for grants You may be able to use it.

Energy supplier help

Many energy suppliers offer help to those struggling with their energy bills. These include Scottish Power, EDF, E.ON and Octopus. It’s worth contacting your energy provider to find out if you qualify.

British Gas is also offering grants of up to £2,000 Customers of any energy supplier.You need to meet certain criteria to qualify and can Apply on the British Gas Energy Trust website.

council tax relief

If you meet certain criteria or receive certain benefits, you may be able to claim up to 100% off your council tax.

If you can demonstrate that you are facing serious hardship and are unable to pay your council tax, your local council may still be able to offer you discretionary relief.

To apply for council tax relief you can contact your local council Via government website.

Up to 30 hours of free childcare

Currently, all working parents in the UK are entitled to 30 hours of free childcare for children aged 3 to 4 years. From 1 April, this right will be extended to include 15 hours of free childcare for children aged 2 years.

You must apply online and reconfirm your eligibility every three months, and in a timely manner each semester. Working parents can also claim tax-free childcare, which gives them 20p back for every 80p they invest in childcare, up to a maximum of £500 a year.

Two more free childcare services are planned to be expanded in the coming years:

Energy price caps: Will they rise or fall in 2024?

energy price cap From 1 April the price will drop to £1,690a drop of £238 from January’s cap of £1,928.

Analysts at trusted Cornwall Insight predict this will fall to £1,462.86 in July, only to rise slightly again to £1,590 in October.

An energy price cap is the maximum amount your energy supplier can charge you per unit of energy if you have a standard variable electricity price. This includes most families. It is expressed as the annual bill of an average household.

The recent drop in prices reflects recent declines in wholesale energy costs — the fees energy companies pay before they deliver electricity and natural gas to homes.

Although this is a significant fall from the record high rates of the past two years, the figure is still almost £1,000 a year higher than pre-pandemic levels.

Will benefits and pensions increase in 2024?

Benefits and state pensions will increase in April 2024.

In his autumn statement, Jeremy Hunt said inflation would hit 6.7% in September and benefits would increase. He also announced that the state pension would be increased by 8.5% at the same time.

However, Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) warned that failure to increase the benefit cap would push more people over its threshold, meaning many people would have their benefits cut in real terms.