Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has plans to extend the eligibility criteria for the Cost of Living payment to include people in receipt of contribution-based Employment Support Allowance who do not receive Universal Credit.

The Cost of Living Payment is being targeted at low income households who are in receipt of a means-tested income replacement benefit. Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance is a non means tested benefit. Non-means tested benefits are not qualifying benefits for the Cost of Living Payment in their own right because people receiving these benefits may have other financial resources available to them. We have no plans to extend the current eligibility criteria.

We will be bringing forward legislation for the 2023/24 Cost of Living Payments in due course.