Lancaster City Council say people who pay their council tax by direct debit will receive the proposed energy bill rebate quicker than those who don’t.
They’re now urging locals who don’t pay their council tax via this method to sign up, or risk the process taking much longer.
The Government recently announced measures to help households with rising energy bills, including a £150 Council Tax energy rebate.
Households in bands A-D will be eligible for the rebate and the payments will be processed locally by Lancaster City Council.
It will be straightforward and quick for the city council to make this payment to households who pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit and they will receive a £150 one off payment paid directly into their bank account.
The city council will endeavour to pay the rebate to all eligible households, but it may take longer to arrange the payment for those who pay by another method.
Councillor Anne Whitehead, cabinet member with responsibility for finance, explained: “While we have yet to receive the full details from the Government on how the rebate scheme will work, we expect that anyone paying by Direct Debit will receive it directly into their bank account.
“For those who aren’t on Direct Debit it’s likely there will be an application process and this will slow down the payment.
“If you do not currently pay by Direct Debit, but can change to do so, I urge you to make that change. This will allow us to pay the rebate to you quickly and reduce the number of people for whom we have to make special arrangements. Switching to Direct Debit will speed up the process for you and everyone else.
“We also understand from the Chancellor’s announcement that there will be discretionary funding to help low income households in higher bands and also those who do not pay council tax.
“Details of this grant and allocations for individual councils have not yet been announced and we will share more information as it becomes available.”
For information and to set up a Direct Debit visit www.lancaster.gov.uk/council-tax
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