Cost of living: Second energy payment welcomed by Cardiff residents

Cost of living payments will "cushion the blow" as bills continue to rise residents have said.

Millions of people across the UK will start to receive their £324 second instalment aimed at people receiving tax credits.

A first grant of £326 was paid earlier in the year.

Although residents in Cardiff welcomed the cash, they said their strict budgets meant they would still have to choose between heating and eating.

Taff Housing Association tenant in Cardiff, Xena Brunel, said rising costs had made it harder for her to "live within your means".

The 59-year-old said: "With the cost of living you have to really budget because the food bill is going up, gas, electricity, water and transport - everything goes up.

"Being unemployed I have to watch what I am spending. Before this crisis, I used to have a budget for food of £25 a week, it's now jumped up to £35 a week."

Ms Brunel added that the £324 was "needed", in particular to cover heating and mobile phone costs and to avoid accumulating debt.

"It helps to cushion the blow," she said.

"You have to live within your means. You can't splash out on expensive stuff, that way leads you down the route of loan sharks."

Eight million people on low incomes who receive certain benefits will get the payment.

Eligibility depends on receiving one of the following benefits:

To be eligible for the latest instalment, people must have been claiming and entitled to a benefits payment between 26 August and 25 September, with the exception of pensioner households, who may be able to have a new pension credit claim backdated.

People are not eligible for these payments if they receive New Style Employment and Support Allowance, contributory Employment and Support Allowance, or New Style Jobseeker's Allowance - unless they get Universal Credit.

The new Cost of Living Payment is an automatic, means-tested benefit which will be given to qualifying people without the need for an application.

The £324 payment will be made directly into bank accounts between now and 23 November, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has said.

Those who qualify via tax credits, rather than one of the other benefits, will receive it by the end of the month.

Everyone is being urged to take care not to be drawn in by scams which exploit those expecting the money. The official payments will be automatic and no additional detail need to be submitted.

At a Taff Housing open day in Canton, Cardiff, tenant Lynda Price agreed that heating over the winter months was the biggest concern the payment would help with.

The 59-year-old said: "With the heating side of things it's very difficult. I do suffer with the cold, and I have got arthritis so it's a choice between food and heating.

"This payment is helping me to top up gas and electric more frequently than I used to before. I am constantly budgeting."

Ms Price's daughter and partner are living with her and she says she feels the pressure of making sure the home is safe and comfortable for them all.

"I make a lot of soups, spaghetti bolognese, that kind of thing, and I find anything on toast is good for economising. I also drive and so I have to budget the cost of the car," she said.

"It is a worry at the moment. I am constantly thinking about whether I am overspending.

"I am eligible for this second payment, thank goodness."