Nottingham City Council has provided an update into council tax rebate payments as one resident stated they felt the number of people still waiting to recieve it was "worrying". All households are entitled to a one-off payment of £150 from the government to help towards paying their council tax in the midst of the cost of living crisis.
Council tax payers in the city who pay by direct debit should now have recieved their payment, however one resident got in touch with Nottinghamshire Live to say they had only been paid after complaining multiple times that they had not recieved their rebate. The St Ann's resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "What about all the people who haven't done this and are struggling to pay their bills in the meantime - it's really worrying. I have spoken to lots of other people who haven't had their payment through as well.
"Things are tight at the moment and there are people who will really, really need the money - my electricity bill has basically doubled, for example. It's hard for everyone. I can handle the delay but there will be others who can't."
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The city council has said it's been difficult for councils to facilitate the payments under a government system which is "far from perfect" - Nottinghamshire Live understands some of these problems arise due to a number of accounts having no first name or the account having a different name on its direct debit.
The council has also seen a significant sign-up recently to direct debit - this means all the accounts that made a successful payment in May have now been identified, but have had to wait longer to be paid the rebate as a result of this. All of those who paid their council tax via direct debit in April of this year should have received their payment. The latest update from the council stated 57,000 payments had been made but admitted some transactions had been unsuccessful.
Councillor Adele Williams, Deputy Leader of Nottingham City Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance said: “We recognise, in an historic cost-of-living crisis, that our residents are really in need of this council tax rebate to help with energy bills. Many Nottingham people still struggle to heat their houses and feed their families despite working hard all week.
“A number of residents have lived for a long time in a cost-of-living crisis and more and more are now finding that they can no longer manage. We’re signposting them to support for money and debt issues, plus working with partners to tackle underlying issues such as employment where we can make an impact.
“It’s been difficult for councils around the country because we’re all having to facilitate payments within the constraints of a Government system which is far from perfect. We’ve paid residents who had successfully paid their council tax via direct debit because those bank details are securely held within our banking systems.
“A significant number of people have recently signed up for direct debit and will only have made their first payment in May – they will be paid shortly. There are a few exceptions being worked through manually where data does not match or where properties are not eligible.
“We are writing to households who do not pay by direct debit and inviting them to claim the rebate online. To make sure residents are not digitally excluded from the process, we have set up a dedicated contact centre to support these households with their application. This process has started this week.”
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