• Six million people who are paid certain disability benefits will begin to receive a one-off payment of £150 from today

• Payments are part of the government’s wider £37 billion support package, including the Energy Price Guarantee and cost of living payments totalling £650

Those who had confirmed payment of their disability benefit for 25 May will receive the £150 automatically, with the vast majority to be paid by early October.

The payment will help disabled people with the rising cost of living, acknowledging the higher disability-related costs they often face, such as for care and mobility needs.

The cost of living payments from the government are part of a £37 billion package of support, which will see millions of households receive at least £1,200 this year to help cover rising costs, and follows the Prime Minister’s announcement of a new Energy Price Guarantee for the next two winters saving households on average £1,000 a year on their energy bills.

Work and Pensions Secretary Chloe Smith said:

We know disabled people face additional costs and this government is listening and taking decisive action to protect the most vulnerable in our society.

In addition to the £150 Disability Cost of Living payment, households will save an average of £1,000 a year through our new Energy Price Guarantee and the lowest-income households will receive at least £1,200 to help with the rising cost of living this year.

This multi-billion-pound package of support reinforces our commitment to help UK households, particularly those with disability challenges, through the tough times ahead.

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng said:

The government is providing vital support to shield the most vulnerable from rising prices caused by global economic challenges.

From today, a one-off £150 payment will automatically land in over six million disabled peoples’ accounts. This is in addition to the decisive action we took last week to hold down energy bills over the next two years, saving the average household £1,000 a year.

The government is standing behind people this winter, and in the longer term we are focusing on driving economic growth – the only way to permanently boost everyone’s living standards.

Additional information

• The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will apply from 1 October and will discount the unit cost for gas and electricity use. This guarantee, which includes the temporary suspension of green levies, means that from 1 October a typical household will pay no more than £2,500 per year for each of the next two years. This is in addition to the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme.

• On top of the EPG and £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment, there is an extra £150 for properties in Council Tax bands A-D in England. On top of this, disabled people on low incomes may also be eligible for the other Cost Living payments totalling up to £650 – households in receipt of a means-tested benefit received the first of the two automatic Cost of Living payments of £326 from 14 July. The second means-tested payment of £324 will be issued later this year.

Eligibility

• Those who receive the following disability benefits may be eligible for the one-off payment of £150 in September: Disability Living Allowance, Personal Independence Payment, Attendance Allowance, Scottish Disability Benefits (Adult Disability Payment and Child Disability Payment), Armed Forces Independence Payment, Constant Attendance Allowance and War Pension Mobility Supplement.

• Those who had confirmed payment of their disability benefit for 25 May are expected to be paid shortly after the payment window opens. For those awaiting confirmation of their disability benefits on 25 May, or who are waiting to be assessed for eligibility to receive disability benefits, the process may take longer but payments will still be automatic.

• You must have received a payment (or later receive a payment) of one of these qualifying benefits for 25 May 2022 to get the payment.

Cost of living support

• You can read more about the government’s cost of living support on the Help with the cost of living page.

• The Government has also expanded the Household Support Fund in England – which helps people with food and energy bills – with an extra £421 million – for October 22-March 23, and topped up funding by £79 million for devolved nations; the total value of this support now stands at £1.5 billion.

• This is all in addition to changes to the Universal Credit taper rate and work allowances worth £1,000 a year on average for 1.7 million working claimants, a rise in the National Living Wage to £9.50 an hour, and a tax cut for around 30 million workers through a rise in National Insurance contribution thresholds.

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Da Silva, 54, of Barton Road, Torquay, was given a conditional discharge for 12 months by Plymouth Magistrates last February. He had pleaded guilty to dumping waste without an environmental permit between January 2019 and August 2020. The conditional discharge would be breached if he failed to clear the site by the end of May 2022. And he was told to provide proof that the rubbish had been properly transferred to a legitimate site permitted to accept such waste.

Last Wednesday (14 September) Da Silva appeared before magistrates for contempt after he failed to clear the waste, which included vehicles, furniture, white goods and gas bottles, by the deadline. He was fined £100 and ordered to pay £80 costs after showing evidence that he has now cleared the waste.

Phil Butterworth of the Environment Agency said:

Da Silva had been given ample time to dispose of the waste to a properly licensed site. Sadly, he chose to ignore his responsibilities.

Unfortunately, anyone who used Da Silva’s services would have also failed in their duty of care to ensure a waste carrier has an environmental permit. By having proof that a person is licensed to remove waste, you can be sure your rubbish is properly disposed of.

At February’s hearing, Da Silva was also ordered to pay costs of £500 plus a £22 victim surcharge.

Da Silva pleaded guilty earlier this year to knowingly causing or knowingly permitting the carrying on of a waste operation on land at the junction of Downaway Lane and St Marychurch Road, Daccombe, Newton Abbot in respect of which no environmental permit was in force between 13 January 2019 and 18 August 2020, Contrary to regulations 38(1)(b) and 12(1)(a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016.

As part of the sentence, a Reg 44 Order was imposed requiring the site to be cleared of rubbish by 31 May 2022.