£150 off Council Tax fuel assistance, and those that do not pay Council Tac

Charleygirl5

My council, Labour, will hang on to the £150 until the very last moment. I do not expect to see a penny until September.

Have they said this Charleygirl5?

It was the government who changed the period. I had assumed that was because the councils had not yet receive the money from government.

DaisyAnne

Charleygirl5

My council, Labour, will hang on to the £150 until the very last moment. I do not expect to see a penny until September.

Have they said this Charleygirl5?

It was the government who changed the period. I had assumed that was because the councils had not yet receive the money from government.

Ate the government actually going to reimburse the councils or are they, as usual just passing on the problem to someone else?

I can't find anywhere that says if the government or council will pay for this. The government is providing funding for Councils to operate the Energy Rebate Discretionary Fund which is mentioned separately by the councils. That makes me think the councils have to bear the burden. However, I really can't be sure. If councils do have to pay for this, then something else will have to go.

I was checking my bank account today and was pleasantly surprised to see that the £150 had already been paid into it. I'd kept meaning to check what housing band I was in but kept forgetting.

My understanding, from the Energy Bills Refund Factsheet, is that the rebates, both the non-repayable £150 for lower council tax bands and the repayable £200 for all households later in the year will come from central government funds. The factsheet says:

The government is providing new funding to local authorities for these rebates, as well as extra funding to help with increased administrative costs. 


www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-support-for-energy-bills-and-the-cost-of-living-factsheets

Charleygirl5

My council, Labour, will hang on to the £150 until the very last moment. I do not expect to see a penny until September.

Our council is Labour and we had our £150 at the beginning of April.

Thank you OD.

An email was received last week from our council to notify us the £150 had been paid into our account

Jane you are lucky- my council I think is broke which will not help. They have not said they will not pay until September- they are always very slow if eg they make a mistake. They are also being taken to court for corruption so they are otherwise engaged. It will arrive here sometime so for me it will be a pleasant surprise.

The funds for this will be ring-fenced, so no point in LAs delaying payouts - still, their (efforts at) administration will vary - and ours are usually pretty pathetic. So, I'm pleased to get a swift response.

Email received:

Your claim submitted through GrantApproval.co.uk under reference number: has been updated. Thank you for your application, we are pleased to approve your claim. Payment will be made within 10 working days of receiving this email.

and we have a majority Labour council.

DaisyAnne We're not entitled. My husband works full-time. Thanks, though.

I am ever so slightly obsessed about everyone getting the benefits they should How.

If everyone claimed they might just simplify the system by paying a higher basic pension, for instance. (I also don't like the idea of extreme struggling)

I was listening to the dreadful Steve Allen on LBC this morning.
I usually do, despite myself.

Anyway, he mentioned that he is in the higher income tax bracket (ie 45%).
And then half an hour or so said that he’d received the £150.
Seems a bit mad.

It could be more the madness of coucil tax per se, rather than this particular application. (But that is a much more in depth discussion )

Sadly we are F .

So people who are council tax exempt wont get it? surely they are in the poorest category?

The link I posted above explains that for those who need help with their energy bills but are not eligible – such as households on income support in higher bands (E-H) or with properties in bands A-D that are exempt from council tax – local authorities will receive £144 million of discretionary funding to help. 


www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-support-for-energy-bills-and-the-cost-of-living-factsheets

And there's this:

What support can I access if I am not eligible for the council tax rebate?

The government has provided all councils in England with funding to provide discretionary support to any household that is in financial need, regardless of council tax band. Each council will develop and publicise eligibility criteria and the claims process for this funding.

www.gov.uk/guidance/council-tax-rebate-factsheet#what-support-can-i-access-if-i-am-not-eligible-for-the-council-tax-rebate

I am in band E. I live in a small 2 bedroomed flat and still wonder how the council classed my flat in this band.
One of my neighbours queried this but we are still in E.

Thanks OakDryad, hopefully that will help a lot of people on Gransnet

AGAA4

I am in band E. I live in a small 2 bedroomed flat and still wonder how the council classed my flat in this band.
One of my neighbours queried this but we are still in E.

this is the link to challenge it

www.gov.uk/challenge-council-tax-band

Here in South Lanarkshire Scotland the money was taken off our bills before they were sent out...My council tax bill went down by £10 per year

Thank you JaneJudge I will try again to be reassessed.

you have nothing to lose

Can someone explain why people who are council tax exempt would get £150 rebate paid to them...Dont understand....

Mine It is not a council tax rebate as such but a way to help people struggling with energy bills. The government via local authorities is using the council tax bands as a way to make a general assessment of those who may be struggling. Someone who is council tax exempt may still be eligible for a payment of £150 from discretionary funds.