When are the £400 energy rebate and other cost-of-living payments due?

All UK households will be given a £400 discount on their energy bills from October.

It comes as energy prices for a typical household rise to £2,500 from the start of the month.

Everyone’s energy bill will be cut by £400. This will be applied over six months, with a reduction of £66 in October and November, and £67 every month between December and March 2023.

The discount will be made automatically by energy suppliers in England, Scotland and Wales. There is no need to apply.

Customers have been warned to ignore scam emails and texts asking for personal information in order to receive the discount.

Direct debit and credit customers will have the money added to their account. Customers with pre-payment meters will have the amount applied to their meter, or receive a voucher.

Separate arrangements are being made for households in Northern Ireland, which has its own energy market.

Anyone who doesn’t use mains gas and electricity – such as those using heating oil – will receive an extra £100 on top of the £400.

Two payments totalling £650 are also being made to more than eight million low-income households who receive the following benefits:

The first instalment of £326 was paid to about seven million of these people between 14 and 31 July. The payments were made automatically into bank accounts – usually marked “DWP Cost of Living”.

The 1.1 million people who only receive tax credits, rather than any of the other benefits, had to wait longer.

Their first payment was also automatic, and was paid straight into bank accounts by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) between 2 and 7 September. This was identified by the letters CL and their National Insurance number.

All eight million will receive their second instalment of £324 later in the year. The first group will receive the money in the autumn, and the group of 1.1 million in the winter.

People are not eligible for these payments if they receive New Style Employment and Support Allowance, contributory Employment and Support Allowance, or New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance – unless they get Universal Credit.

Anyone who thinks they are entitled to the help but who haven’t received it should contact the office that pays their benefit or tax credits.

Those who could miss out include the 850,000 pensioner households which the government says do not claim Pension Credit, which is a gateway to these extra payments.

Other eligibility details are outlined here for people in England, Wales and Scotland, and here for people in Northern Ireland.

None of these cost-of-living payments affect the tax you pay, or the benefits or tax credits you receive.

Up to six million people on the following disability benefits started to receive £150 on 20 Septemberand nearly all should have the money by now:

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Households that receive the Winter Fuel Payment – which is worth £200-£300 and is paid to nearly all homes with at least one person of pension age – will receive an extra £300 in November or December.

That should cover nearly all pensioners across the UK.

Lower-income pensioners who claim pension credit, will receive the money in addition to the £650 support for those on benefits.

This means a small group of pensioners with disabilities will receive a total of £1,500.

About 80% of households should have received a £150 energy rebate, often through their council tax bill.

How it was paid depends on whether you pay your council tax by direct debit and where you live in the UK.

Some people were given fuel vouchers through the Household Support Fund which is distributed by local councils.

The government has announced a two-year energy price guarantee, limiting a typical duel-fuel household’s annual energy bill to £2,500.

This is not a cap on how much you will actually pay – your bill depends on how much energy you actually use.

The plan applies to all households in England, Scotland and Wales, with the “same level of support” available in Northern Ireland.

The government has also announced a support package to cut energy bills for businesses, for six months from the start of October.

The £400 discount and payments for pensioners and people on certain benefits are being funded through a windfall tax on energy companies.

The government said its energy support for households and businesses will cost £60bn for the six months. That is much less than some industry analysts predicted. And because the help will last for two years, the actual cost will be higher.

It will be paid for through increased government borrowing. The cost of this has increased sharply since its mini-budget plunged financial markets into chaos.

The final bill will also depend on the price energy companies have to pay producers in the coming months.