Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many letters they are sending this year to the recipients of the state pension and other eligible benefits informing them of the annual £10 Christmas bonus; and what is the cost of such letters.
The vast majority of Christmas Bonus payments are included in the regular benefit payments. DWP does not send out specific, stand-alone letters, so there is no extra cost incurred by the department.
A manual Christmas Bonus payment may be made by exception. These are cases, which for a number of reasons, have fallen out of the scans that identify eligible claimants. In this scenario, a clerical payment is made and a separate letter is sent. This stand-alone letter, is a one-off communication. Associated costs are not held, however as volumes are very low.