Some of region's poorest families will receive an extra boost from their councils as part of the Council Tax rebate scheme.
Households living in Sunderland and North Tyneside who claim Council Tax support will get an extra £20 on top of the £150 announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in February, to help with the cost of living crisis. The additional payment, which will be paid in the same way as the £150 rebate, has been allocated from 'discretionary funding' paid to councils by the Government, and will be paid to all families claiming the benefit, even those living in bands E-G.
The Council Tax Rebate Scheme was launched in February to help tack the rising cost of living - in particular increasingly expensive energy bills. Under the initiative, all households in bands A-D in will get a £150 non-repayable payment.
Read more: Is it time to fix your energy bills before new price cap kicks in?
Most families in our region should have received their £150 Council Tax rebate by yesterday (May 31). The seven councils serving households in the North East have reported they have just about cleared payments to every household who pays for their Council Tax by direct debit.
The payment was originally scheduled for April, but most councils made the payments in May, with the last few reportedly made yesterday. Last Thursday, Rishi Sunak announced a fresh package of measures to help consumers through the autumn using other delivery methods, after the Government admitted that some people may not get their £150 payment until September, as local authorities grapple with the scheme’s logistics, especially to those that do not pay their council tax via direct debit.
While councils have prioritised paying households who pay their bill by direct debit, more and more are now opening applications for those that don't. Here's what our councils have to say:
Durham County Council
“We are working hard to ensure that all residents receive their £150 award as quickly as possible. Given the high volume of payments, due to County Durham being one of the biggest local authority areas in the country, we have brought in additional staff to assist.
“To date we have made more than 142,000 payments worth more than £21m. In addition so far, we have made payments totalling £84,725 through our discretionary scheme. Due to some legacy issues with the data in our system there are a small number of direct debit payers, around one per cent of the total, who have yet to receive their payment. We are working with our software supplier to resolve this as quickly as possible.
“Residents who pay by direct debit can be assured they will have their awards paid into their bank accounts if they have not already received them. We will be writing to those who do not pay by direct debit throughout June inviting them to apply online for the payment. Priority is being given to those residents who are vulnerable. The government has set councils a deadline of 30 September to make all payments of the £150 and we will ensure all residents receive their awards by then.”
"We are giving all residents who do not pay by direct debit six weeks to apply for their award when we invite them to make their claim. If someone doesn’t take up the invitation to apply within six weeks we will credit their Council Tax account, to ensure they receive their award. We expect to start doing this from the end of July."
Northumberland County Council
"In total we have now paid 103,0000 direct debit and non direct debit households. So far we have paid out £14.9 million. We have written to all non-direct debit payers encouraging them to apply online. We have an assisted application process for those who need help applying.
"The council is currently undertaking an exercise to collect bank details for all non direct debit payers and this is ongoing to 24 June 2022. After that point, depending upon numbers left, consideration will be given to potentially issuing vouchers and as a last resort adding to the Council Tax account. The council is keen to issue as many payments as possible in line with the Government's intention which is for households to actually receive the payment into their bank."
Gateshead Council
"We have made contact with everyone who is eligible for the £150 council tax rebate. To date we have paid 82% of eligible residents (70,429 out of 86,159)."
Newcastle City Council
"We have made 72,223 payments. We are currently in the process of writing to customers, who do not pay their Council Tax by direct debit, inviting them to complete an online form to claim.
"The deadline for those who don't pay by direct debit to apply for the rebate is August 31, after which the payment will be added to their Council Tax account."
Sunderland City Council
"The Council Tax energy rebate payment has been made to more than 92,500 Sunderland households. The council has been allocated funding to administer a discretionary scheme. This funding will be used to provide a payment to households in receipt of Council Tax Support in Council Tax bands E to H and to provide a top up payment of £20 to all households claiming Council Tax Support. This means that households in receipt of Council Tax Support on 1 April 2022 will receive a payment of £170 in total. Eligible Council Tax Support claimants only need to complete the form once and they will receive the full £170.
"The Council has not set a deadline for those who don't pay by direct debit to apply for the energy rebate. In line with the Government’s criteria all energy rebate payments / credits to residents’ accounts will need to be made by September 30 in respect of the Energy Rebate Scheme and November 30 in respect of the discretionary fund."
North Tyneside Council
"Over 70% of residents eligible for a £150 Council Tax rebate in North Tyneside have already received their payment and arrangements are in place to support those who do not. Anyone who hasn’t yet received their payment will receive a letter inviting them to claim the grant online. We have a deadline for July 31 for applications to be submitted by, after this date we will be making payments onto Council Tax accounts or issuing another form of payment where it is appropriate
"The authority has been provided with a grant to provide funding outside of the £150 payment, meaning it will be providing an extra discretionary payment to residents receiving Council Tax Support. Residents receiving Council Tax Support in bands A-D will receive £20, topping up their payment to £170, while those in bands E-H will receive £170. These payments will be made in the same way as the standard £150 Council Tax energy rebate and will be appearing in bank accounts in the coming months.
South Tyneside Council
"We have paid all direct debit customers and applications for non direct debit customers are open now until June 10. We have already paid over 37,000 direct debit customers and are inviting the remaining eligible A-D households to come forward and apply for their rebate. We are writing to every eligible household to ensure that they have the details of the scheme.
"When customers apply, they can choose to either
- Provide bank details, so the money can be paid directly into their account. The council will aim to pay the money into bank accounts within 2 weeks, however, it is advised to allow up to 4 weeks.
- Ask for the money to be credited to their Council Tax account. The Council Tax bill for 2022/23 will be reduced by £150. An amended bill showing the new payments will be sent within 4 weeks of receiving an application.
Anyone who does not apply for the rebate by 10 June 2022 will have the support credited to their Council Tax account. Their council tax bill for 2022/23 will be reduced by £150 and a new bill will be issued."
