The council is working towards paying up to 130,000 Council Tax payers £150 each under the Government’s Energy Bill Rebate scheme. Government expects local authorities to have made payments under this scheme by September 2022.
The rebate was set up by the Government to help people facing a cost of living crisis, including sharply rising energy bills. Like all councils, Nottingham City Council is working hard to amend its IT systems to make these payments as soon as possible.
For residents whose Council Tax fall into Bands A to D (and certain residents in Band E) who pay by Direct Debit, the Council has commenced payments and expects to have made the majority of payments by the end of June.
For residents whose Council Tax fall into Bands A to D (and certain residents in Band E) who do not pay by Direct Debit and for whom we hold no bank details, we will be writing to each household on how to apply for the payment once all direct debit payers’ payments have been made. We will be announcing details of an application process where you will be able to provide your bank details for us to validate and make payment.
The Government also announced a discretionary scheme for resident in Bands E to H and Councils have until November 2022 to make payments. Details of this scheme will be announced in the summer.
The Government has announced that it will provide councils with funding to help towards the staffing and software costs associated with administering the scheme.
City Council Leader, Cllr David Mellen, said: “We understand that residents will be want to receive their money as soon as possible and we are working hard to ensure that payments are received well within the Government’s deadlines.
“Also, the stipulation that Council’s need to make a payment rather than simply crediting Council Tax accounts has resulted in both significant additional work and the need to make changes to our IT systems. We are now working towards everyone on direct debit payments receiving the payment by the end of next month and people paying by other methods receiving it as quickly as possible.
“Of course, we appreciate that people are facing a cost of living crisis now and we are doing all we can to make these payments as soon as possible.”
Advice and support for anyone struggling financially is available from Citizens Advice and Money Saving Expert
The easiest way for people to pay their Council Tax is to sign up to Direct Debit, which also means Council Tax payments can be spread over 12 months.
More information is available at www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/counciltax