DWP Christmas bonus payment coming 'earlier than usual' to help families on benefits 'prepare'

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DWP Christmas bonus payment coming 'earlier than usual' to help families on benefits 'prepare'

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it purposely sends out benefits "earlier than usual" in the lead up to Christmas to help those in receipt to "prepare for the festive period". The response follows on from campaigning for the £10 DWP Christmas Bonus payment to be increased in line with the cost of living rising.

While the 2024 payment date for the Christmas Bonus has not been confirmed yet, it tends to arrive in bank accounts in the first week of December. A DWP spokesperson said: “We know that Christmas is a time when people stretch their budgets, which is why we pay many people their benefits earlier than usual, helping them prepare for the festive period.

“We’re focused on supporting people year-round through a new system which offers better personalised support for people out of work as well as those in work on a low income.” They added: "We are taking immediate action to turn around the dire inheritance we face — with more people living in poverty now than 14 years ago.

"This includes extending the Household Support Fund for the most vulnerable, kickstarting work to develop a strategy to reduce child poverty and taking the first steps towards delivering a genuine living wage for working people."

It comes amid a campaign for £10 payment to be increased, since it has stayed the same since its introduction way back in the 1970s. More than 20,000 people have signed a petition calling for it to rise, reports Birmingham Live. The argument is that with the cost of living increasing and benefits such as the winter fuel payment being limited to fewer people, an increase is needed now more than ever.

"Christmas is THE most expensive time of the year,” said the petition's initiator, Shona McMahon. “Pensioners, the vulnerable and people like myself, disabled, could do with an extra boost at this time of year, especially as the energy assistance has been axed."

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