This means £2.3 billion has been paid out to over 99% of those eligible via DWP across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since the beginning of the rollout last Tuesday.

A further one million families eligible solely through tax credits will receive their payment between 23 and 30 November.

Eligible claimants who have not yet received their payment should not be concerned, as the DWP expects some payments may take until 23 November to come through. After this date, a GOV.UK page for reporting missing Cost of Living Payments will become available and the DWP will begin processing claims to ensure outstanding payments reach those eligible as quickly as possible.

There are also a small number of cases where an automated payment has not been possible, for example Universal Credit cases where benefit payments are split between a couple, or where the emergency payment system (EPS) cannot recognise their claim details. A dedicated team of agents are currently working through these cases to pay them manually.

Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride said:

This Government promised to protect those on the lowest incomes, and it is great to be able to confirm today that we have delivered on this commitment with our latest Cost of Living Payment reaching over seven million households in the last week alone.

This payment is just part of a wider support package the Government has provided, with millions of families benefiting from a Council Tax rebate and pensioners across the country receiving winter fuel support as the weather gets colder and disabled people getting help with additional costs they face. We will continue to support the most vulnerable as we deal with the impact of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine and the aftermath of the pandemic.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt said:

We know families are struggling with the rising prices caused by Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. That is why we’ve delivered over 7 million cash payments directly into the bank accounts of the most vulnerable households in just one week and will make over a million more to those on tax credits later this month.

This is part of the £1,200 cash support we’re giving to the poorest members of society during this difficult period.

At the upcoming Autumn Statement we will continue to prioritise helping the most vulnerable, as we make the tough decisions needed to drive down inflation and fix our public finances.

To be eligible for the £324 Cost of Living Payment, claimants must have been entitled to one of the qualifying benefits between 26 August and 25 September, with the exception of pensioner households, who may be able to have a new Pension Credit claim backdated.

Pensioners have until 18 December to submit a valid claim for Pension Credit, which could entitle them to the £324 Cost of Living Payment. Anyone can check their eligibility for Pension Credit using the online calculator or by calling the freephone claim line (0800 99 1234).

Even if you are not on a qualifying DWP benefit you may still be eligible for the £324 payment, as HMRC is also making payments to over one million families who only receive Working Tax Credit or Child Tax Credit. These will be automatically paid into bank accounts between 23 and 30 November.

Those eligible do not need to contact the government or apply for the payment at any stage. Payments will appear on bank statements with a reference including the recipients National Insurance number followed by:

• ‘DWP COL’ for those on DWP means-tested benefits
• ‘HMRC COLS’ for those on tax credits only

This is the second instalment of the £650 Cost of Living Payment – part of the Government’s £37 billion support package for households – with millions also benefiting from the £400 grant to help with energy bills and 85% of households in bands A to D receiving the £150 Council Tax rebate.

On top of this, nearly one in 10 people have received the Government’s additional £150 disability payment this Autumn, and an estimated eight million pensioner households will receive an extra £300 in their Winter Fuel Payments this winter.

• Low-income households are benefiting from government support in a variety of different ways. You can read more about the government’s cost of living support and what is available on GOV.UK.
• The cost of living support package was announced in May 2022 and includes six one-off support measures:
  1. a £650 Cost of Living Payment, made in two payments, to claimants of certain means-tested benefits including Universal Credit, most of the legacy benefits and tax credits it is replacing (except Housing Benefit), and Pension Credit;
  2. a £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment for recipients of certain non-means-tested disability benefits, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA);
  3. a £300 Pensioner Cost of Living Payment, paid as an addition to the Winter Fuel Payment, to households with at least one person entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2022/2023;
  4. a £150 Council Tax rebate for 85% of all UK households;
  5. an expansion of the Energy Bills Support Scheme, providing households with £400 of support towards their energy bills; and
  6. additional funding to extend the Household Support Fund.
• To be eligible for the second payment of £324, families must have been entitled to a payment (or later found to be entitled to a payment) of either:
  1. Universal Credit for an assessment period that ended in the period 26 August to 25 September
  2. Income-based JSA, income-related ESA, Income Support or Pension Credit for any day in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022.
• Tax credit-only customers, who will receive the second payment shortly after DWP payments, must have received a payment or an annual award of at least £26 of tax credits for any day in the period 26 August 2022 to 25 September 2022, or later found to be entitled to tax credits for this period.
• For DWP claimants eligible for the £324 payment, in a small minority of complex circumstances, households may be paid after 23 November 2022 – for example, if they were deemed unable to claim certain benefits, but won backdated entitlement on appeal, or where payments were rejected due to invalid account details. The DWP will seek to contact claimants directly in the very small minority of cases where there are issues or delays.
• This payment will be tax-free, will not count towards the benefit cap, and will not have any impact on existing benefit awards.
• These payments are being delivered in two slightly different amounts of £326 and £324. The distinct value relates to a specific qualifying period, so it is simpler to determine if a payee received the correct payments, reducing the fraud risk of people who claim not to have had one of the specific two payments, as DWP will be able to clearly track those who have.

Table 1 – Estimated number of families eligible for the means-tested benefit cost of living payment by region

Table 2 – Estimated number of families eligible for the means-tested benefit cost of living payment by Westminster parliamentary constituency

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The application was to rebuild the disused branch line between Portishead and Pill and reintroduce passenger train services to Bristol and beyond.

The application was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration by North Somerset Council on 15 November 2019 and accepted for Examination on 12 December 2019.

Following the Examination during which the public, Statutory Consultees and Interested Parties were given the opportunity to give evidence to the Examining Authority, recommendations were made to the Secretary of State on 19 July 2021.

This is the 118th Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and 45th transport application to have been examined by The Planning Inspectorate within the timescales laid down in the Planning Act 2008.

The Planning Inspectorate’s interim Chief Executive, Navees Rahman said:

“The Planning Inspectorate has now examined more than 100 nationally significant infrastructure projects since the Planning Act 2008 process was introduced, ensuring local communities, the local authority and other interested parties have had the opportunity of being involved in the examination of projects that may affect them.

“The Examining Authority listened and gave full consideration to all local views and the evidence gathered during the Examination before making its recommendation to the Secretary of State.”

The decision, the recommendation made by the Examining Authority to the Secretary of State and the evidence considered by the Examining Authority in reaching its recommendation are publicly available on the project pages of the National Infrastructure Planning website.

Journalists wanting further information should contact the Planning

Inspectorate Press Office, on 0303 444 5004 or 0303 444 5005 or email:

Press.office@planninginspectorate.gov.uk

The Planning Inspectorate’s National Infrastructure Programme of Projects details the proposals which are anticipated to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate as applications in the coming months.

Philip John Mottram, 55, from Sheffield, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates Court on 10 November 2022 where he was sentenced before District Judge Redhouse to a 12-month Community Order requiring 80 hours of unpaid work in the community and up to 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He also had to pay costs of £2,000 and Victim Surcharge of £60.

The court heard that Mottram was the sole director of Urbandeli Ltd, which traded as a café called Urban Deli on Campo Lane in Sheffield, until the business went into liquidation in March 2017.

But liquidators discovered that Mottram had been banned as a director for a year in April 2016, after a case had been brought against him by Companies House for failing to provide a copy of the company accounts.

Disqualified directors are banned from forming, managing or promoting companies for the duration of their ban. People who breach the terms of the disqualification are committing a criminal offence and could be fined and/or go to prison for up to 2 years.

Mottram also ignored requests by Urbandeli’s liquidators to hand over company books and records – a legal requirement during a company’s liquidation.

The liquidators shared their findings with the Insolvency Service, which triggered an investigation. But Mottram failed to answer investigators’ questions about his role in the company while he was banned as a director.

Following the investigation Mottram was charged with four separate offences, but twice failed to turn up to court hearings, which led to his arrest.

He previously pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates Court to failing to hand over company books to liquidators, and to being in charge of a company during his one-year ban as a director.

Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Philip Mottram had scant regard for his disqualification as a company director, didn’t cooperate with investigators and showed little respect for the courts.

This type of criminality has a huge impact on the confidence of the UK Business community. Mottram’s sentencing will be a warning to others that the Insolvency Service is committed to bringing lawbreakers to justice.

Philip John Mottram is from Sheffield and his date of birth is September 1967

Urbandeli Ltd (Company Reg no 07646148)

The sentence result was announced at Sheffield Magistrates Court by District Judge Redhouse

Disqualification undertakings are the administrative equivalent of a disqualification order but do not involve court proceedings.

Persons subject to a disqualification order are bound by a range of other restrictions.

Information about investigations into insolvent companies

Information about criminal investigation

Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct.

You can also follow the Insolvency Service on: