More than 200,000 working families will gain about £1,000 a year, thanks to new rules around Housing and Council Tax Benefits, making them an average of £20 a week better off.

From this week, income from Child Benefit will no longer be taken into account when calculating entitlement to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

This will mean more money for families already getting these benefits and other low income families becoming eligible for the first time.

Families who are already receiving Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit do not have to do anything to get this new help. It will be calculated and added to the benefit automatically.

Families on a low income, who aren’t getting either Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit and who think they might be newly entitled to these benefits, should contact their local council for more details.

Secretary of State Yvette Cooper said: “We want to do more to help families who are working hard to get by during the recession.

“Already tax credits make sure families are better off in work, but this extra cash is a practical way to make sure the benefits from working are even stronger. And it will help cut child poverty too.”

These new rules were originally announced in the 2008 Budget.

Families in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit do not have to do anything to access this new help. The sum they will receive will be calculated and added to the benefit automatically.

Families on a low income, who are not in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Benefit that think they might be newly entitled to these benefits, should contact their local council for more details.