The government will start paying the money from today until November 23 to those who are eligible.

It is the second half of a £650 grant which is being paid to people on low-incomes to cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

The first payment of £326 was made in July and around 800 million households will receive the cash.

Who will get the grant?

The grant is being paid to people who already receive the following means-tested benefits: Universal Credit, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, working tax credit, child tax credit, or pension credit.

How is it paid?

The money will be paid directly into the account where they receive their benefits, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said.

It is tax free and does not count towards the benefit cap or have any impact on existing benefits.

The government said in a small number of cases the money may be paid after November 23. In these cases, the DWP will contact those people to let them know about any delays or issues.

What other help is available?

The grant is just one of a number of support measures from the government to help people with rising costs. It has also provided the following payments:

• £300 extra winter fuel payment payment for pensioners
• £150 grant for disabled people.
• £400 energy discount for all households to help with soaring gas and electricity bills
• £150 council tax rebate has been paid to some.

However, around 300,000 households have not yet received the council tax rebate, six months after it first started being paid.

Why is the money being paid?

The cost-of-living crisis has seen prices soar and inflation rose to 10.1% in September.

Nearly everything we spend money on has risen in price and energy bills, for example, are set to rise to £3,700 from April when the Energy Price Guarantee ends.

The charity Citizens Advice says it is helping more than two people every minute with crisis support – such as food banks and charitable grants.

More than 137,000 people have been referred to it for this type of support, which is a 50% increase on the same period last year, and a 167% increase on the same period in 2019.