HOUSEHOLDS YET TO CLAIM ENERGY REBATE URGED TO DO SO

Eligible households which have not yet provided their bank details to receive the Council Tax Energy Rebate are being urged to do so before the closing date.

You are eligible for this rebate if your home is in Council Tax band A to D and you were the liable person for council tax on 1 April 2022.

South Lakeland District Council paid the rebate directly to people who pay their Council Tax by Direct Debit, and launched a process whereby people who didn't pay by DD could securely provide their bank details and be paid.

SLDC has now paid energy rebates worth more than £4.5m to 30,245 households – more than 80 per cent of those eligible – and is continuing to work through the remaining eligible households, writing to ask for bank details and undertaking checks where necessary before the final deadline of 30 September 2022.

Anybody who has not responded by 23 September will have their Council Tax accounts credited with £150.

Please note SLDC will not call taxpayers to ask for bank details for the rebate payments and any communication will come in a letter.

For full details on the scheme and a link to the secure form to give us your bank details, please visit www.southlakeland.gov.uk/energyrebate.

Councillor Suzie Pye, South Lakeland District Council’s Portfolio Holder for Health, Wellbeing and Poverty Alleviation, said: "The cost of living crisis is affecting us all. The Council Tax energy rebate is one of the measures designed to ease the burden and I urge anybody eligible who has not done so already to take the simple step needed to receive the funds.

"All payments must be made by 30 September 2022 so there is still time to provide your bank details if you’ve had a letter from us but haven’t done so."

If you do not have a bank account, the rebate can be directly paid into your Council Tax account and you can indicate this on the online form.

Please note the £150 rebate will not need to be repaid unless it has been paid in error or it comes to light that a household was not eligible for the payment due to a change in circumstances.

Suggestions for financial hardship help, advice and support can be found on the SLDC website at https://www.southlakeland.gov.uk/your-council/partnerships/financial-hardship-help-advice-and-support/

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