Harlow Council has now paid out over £4.1million in £150 energy rebate payments to households in the town.
A total of £4,172,700 has so far been paid to 27,818 eligible households, of which 19,930 are households which the council holds direct debit information for. A further 7,888 households who do not pay Council Tax by direct debit have applied and received the rebate.
The government energy rebate is a one-off payment of £150 to most households in Council Tax bands A to D, excluding empty or second homes, based on the Council Tax records at 1 April 2022.
The energy rebate is in addition to Harlow Council’s £50 reduction on this year’s Council Tax bills.
Residents who do not pay their Council Tax by direct debit, should have received a letter advising them on how to apply for the rebate. Over 13,000 letters have been sent out to eligible households. Full details of how to apply can be found in the letter or at https://www.harlow.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-rebate-and-dividend
To help process the application, bank account details and a copy of a recent bank statement will need to be provided. This is to verify the bank account details and the household’s address to prevent fraudulent claims. This is a requirement of the government to enable rebate payments to be made quickly. The banks’ name and details plus the name, address, sort code and account number must be visible on the statement. The council does not need to see the financial information on the statement so this can be covered over.
If households prefer, they may wait until the end of this month (31 August 2022) when the energy rebate will be credited to their Council Tax account and used to reduce ongoing instalments.
On 1 September 2022, the council aims to launch a discretionary energy rebate scheme for households in Council Tax bands E to H.
Councillor James Leppard, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Finance, said:
“We know that the cost of living is impacting on our residents, so we have worked hard to get these payments out and into bank accounts as quickly as possible. I would like to thank our Revenues and Benefits staff for the work they have done to get these payments made. We will shortly launch a discretionary scheme aimed at helping households in Council Tax bands E to H who are also struggling with the cost of living.
“We have recently launched a new page on our website which provides advice on where residents can turn to for additional support at this time. This advice includes information on where to get benefit and financial support with council bills. There are also contacts for local and national organisations that can help, and we will continue to add information to this page as more cost of living support becomes available. Regular information will also appear in the council’s ‘Harlow Times’ magazine, which is distributed to all households quarterly.”
The help with the cost of living webpage can be accessed from the front of the council’s website – www.harlow.gov.uk – or via this direct link www.harlow.gov.uk/help-cost-living
