Government's £150 one-off payment towards energy bills

Who is eligible?

• Households in council tax bands A-D will receive the £150 council tax payment.
• However, second homes or empty properties will not benefit

The Main scheme

• The majority of households who pay by direct debit have now been paid.
• We are currently in the process of paying the last remaining cases.

Applications

Online applications have now closed.

If you were eligible but you do not pay by direct debit or did not make an application for the main Council Tax Energy Rebate scheme £150 would have been applied to your Council Tax account by the end of September 2022.

Discretionary scheme

The Government has given councils a cash limited fund to provide support to vulnerable households who may not qualify for the £150 council tax payment.

Members have approved a discretionary scheme for residents who do not qualify for help in the main scheme.

This scheme is for only bands E-H paying Council Tax and in receipt of Benefits.

This scheme closes on 2 November 2022.

Details of scheme

• Only one grant, main or discretionary will be paid to a household and will not exceed £150, although this could be less if oversubscribed.

Please Note: no awards will be made before the scheme closing date as funding for this scheme is limited.

• The household must occupy the property as their main residence and be liable for rent or council tax on 1 April 2022.

(Backdated liability rules apply as for the main scheme*)

• The scheme is open for a month for applications.

There are 2 grounds for an application to be made

Residents liable for a council tax property in Bands E to H (a chargeable dwelling), and in receipt of Council Tax reduction scheme (CTS), Housing Benefit or Universal Credit on 1 April 2022 are eligible to apply.

To apply for the rebate, you will need to complete the online form (link available below)

You will also need to provide:

• your bank details showing the sort code and account number, and your name and address; and
• proof that you are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Universal Credit showing your name as at 1 April 2022. If you are only on Council Tax reduction scheme (CTS), we can check our internal records for proof of this benefit.

Verifying your details

• To validate your bank account details, the council needs to share relevant information with TransUnion. This is used to ensure your energy payment is paid to the correct bank account. For more information visit the Trans Union website
• The council may also carry out checks with the Department for Work and Pensions, for verification purposes.
• The council may use some automated decision-making to determine if you are eligible to access funds. This means that a decision may be made by automated means.
• Your data protection rights allow you to object to any automated-decision making used in this process. If you do, there may be a delay in the processing of your application.
• If you wish to request any changes to the way your data is used for the purposes of processing this application, including the withdrawal of consent, you can exercise your rights by contacting the relevant Council’s data protection officer.
• If you do withdraw your consent, we will not be able to continue payments to you. Your consent is necessary to establish your eligibility and to authorise any payments made.
• For more information on how your personal data is processed for these purposes, please see the Council Tax Energy Rebate Privacy Notice

Please be patient, we will get this rebate to you soon.

Further information

Further information about the rebate is available on the Gov.uk website