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Roundup of recent DWP announcements
It's a 10 from Len on 'Pension Credit - Day of Action'
Former Strictly Come Dancing Judge Len Goodman and Minister for Pensions Guy Opperman joined forces in the ballroom in a video to help promote Pension Credit.
Wednesday 15 June was the second annual Day of Action, with the aim of encouraging pensioners to check their eligibility for Pension Credit and claim.
Well known charities, banks and pension providers, such as Age UK, Virgin Money and Legal & General also got behind the campaign, taking to social media to help spread the message.
It is not too late for you to get involved and help to spread the word about the importance of Pension Credit, which can also open the door to other support including the £650 cost of living payment detailed in the article below. You can share the Len Goodman video, our partner video or use any of the assets in our toolkit.
New cost of living payment
More than eight million households across the whole of the UK will get a cash payment of £650 to ease cost of living pressures.
The first instalment of £326 will be paid from 14 July, and the eligibility date for the second instalment of £324 will be announced soon.
In addition to the £650 for households on benefits, there will be a separate £300 payment for pensioners, and a £150 payment for disabled people, which can be paid on top of the £650 payment.
This is on top of £400 for all households to help with energy bills, and an extra £150 for properties in Council Tax bands A-D, meaning millions of the lowest-income households will receive at least £1,200 in support this year.
The Government has also expanded support for the Household Support Fund – which helps people with food and energy bills – with an extra £421 million, on top of £79 million for devolved nations; the total value of this support now stands at £1.5 billion.
Find out more
Government food strategy
Plans to drive innovation and harness pioneering technology in farming were set out this week as part of the Government's food strategy which will back our farmers by helping to increase domestic production, spread jobs and grow the economy.
The strategy includes plans to:
- Launch an independent review to tackle labour shortages in the food supply chain, to look at the roles of automation, domestic labour and migration to ensure UK businesses can access the labour they require
- Extend the Seasonal Workers visa route to poultry, following a successful pilot last year
- Consult on food waste reporting for larger businesses over a certain size
- Launch a new partnership between the public and private sector to provide consumers with more information about the food they eat while incentivising industry to produce healthier, more ethical and sustainable goods
Read the full Press Release
Please share your feedback on the strategy by emailing External.affairs@defra.gov.uk and foodstrategywhitepaper@defra.gov.uk.
You can also follow the conversation and share your views on social media using #FoodStrategy. Please see social media content on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, which you may wish to amplify.
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