People who get certain benefits could be entitled to a £10 Christmas Bonus payment – though some will argue it is not enough to keep up with the rising cost of living
The Christmas Bonus is a one-off £10 payment that is made by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) – but has been criticised over the years for failing to meet the needs of its recipients.
The annual one-off payment is made to people who are receiving at least one of a raft of eligible benefits during the qualifying period, which is typically the first full week of December. The payment is widely accessible as it comes with more than two dozen benefits, and anyone “ordinarily resident” in the UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man or Gibraltar can receive it during the qualifying week.
But the Christmas bonus has been subject to increasing criticism in recent years, with hundreds of Brits calling on the small payment to be increased as benefits recipients face mounting financial concerns.
A new petition is calling on the Government to increase the Christmas bonus payment in line with inflation, stating the one-off payment doesn’t go nearly far enough. David Kirkwood, who organised the petition, believes the amount should be increased nearly 20-fold to account for the increased pressure on people during the Christmas period. If you can’t see the poll, click here.
He wrote in the petition, which is quickly gathering steam with 2,290 signatures of the 10,000 required for it to be debated in Parliament, that while £10 was a valuable uplift when it was introduced in 1972, it is now “insulting” to its recipients.
Mr Kirkwood said: “In the early 1970s, £10 was a valuable uplift for those without income, to help with the increased costs associated with Christmas time. It would have helped towards paying for heating and electricity, food and drinks or Christmas presents for kids. It would have been the equivalent of approximately £180 today adjusted for inflation.
“£10 today won’t even buy a round of drinks, wouldn’t pay for a quality Christmas pudding or buy a box of decent Christmas Crackers. £10 quite frankly is insulting.”
While it has been subject to increasing criticism, people who receive the £10 haven’t brushed the extra cash aside, with social media users saying it was at least handy for some limited costs when they received it last year. One Reddit user commenting on the usefulness of the bonus said it “paid for the pigs in blankets and streaky bacon” they had with their Christmas dinner.
They wrote: “I laughed the first time i got it on top of my pip last year. But it paid for the pigs in blankets and the streaky bacon I like to lattice over the turkey so I didn’t complain. It will cover those this year aswell. I see it as a tenner off my usual shopping bill.”
Eligible Brits hoping to make similar use of the bonus don’t need to do anything, as the cash will automatically arrive in their bank accounts. People who believe they should have received the money but didn’t as of January 1 are advised to get in contact with the DWP.
Eligible benefits include:
- Adult Disability Payment
- Armed Forces Independence Payment
- Attendance Allowance
- Carer’s Allowance
- Carer Support Payment
- Child Disability Payment
- Constant Attendance Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- Contribution-based Employment and Support Allowance (once the main phase of the benefit is entered after the first 13 weeks of claim)
- Disability Living Allowance
- Incapacity Benefit at the long-term rate
- Industrial Death Benefit (for widows or widowers)
- Mobility Supplement
- Pension Age Disability Payment
- Pension Credit – the guarantee element
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA)
- Severe Disablement Allowance (transitionally protected)
- State Pension (including Graduated Retirement Benefit)
- Unemployability Supplement or Allowance (paid under Industrial Injuries or War Pensions schemes)
- War Disablement Pension at State Pension age
- War Widow’s Pension
- Widowed Mother’s Allowance
- Widowed Parent’s Allowance
- Widow’s Pension
What do you think? Are the £10 DWP Christmas Bonus payments enough? Take our poll and have your say in the comments below.
