DWP update on £10 Christmas Bonus as calls made for payment to increase

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has issued an update regarding the £10 Christmas Bonus. It follows on from weeks of campaigning and calls for the payment to be increased.

The bonus is a one-off payment made to people who receive certain benefits in the qualifying week, which is usually the first week of December. Anyone waiting for their DWP Christmas Bonus will likely receive it at the start of next month.

It comes amid a campaign for an uplift, with the £10 bonus having stayed the same since its introduction back in the 1970s. More than 23,000 people have signed the petition calling for the increase, reports BirminghamLive.

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They argue that with living costs increasing and benefits such as the winter fuel payment being limited to fewer people, an increase is needed now more than ever. Shona McMahon, the petition's initiator, said: "Christmas is the most expensive time of the year. 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."

A DWP representative responded: "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."