Reading residents who live in Band A – D properties and pay their Council Tax by direct debit are due to begin receiving their £150 ‘rebate’ payments later this week.
73% of all Band A to D Council Tax payers in Reading pay by direct debit. The Council will use residents’ existing direct debit details to pay the money direct into people’s bank accounts.
An estimated 50,000 residents will receive these payments. The process is expected to begin later this week and run for a period of up to two weeks.
Once the majority of payments have been distributed using direct debit details, the Council will begin the process for making payments to residents who live in Band A to D and do not pay their Council Tax by direct debit. These residents will be invited to apply for their payments via a dedicated link which will be added to the website. The online application will be added when this process begins, currently expected to be in two weeks. It will be widely publicised at the time and over the following weeks and months.
For residents who need help with energy bills but are not eligible for the £150 rebate - such as households on income support in higher bands (E-H) - local authorities have also received discretionary funding from Government to help. These residents will also be invited to apply for discretionary payments of £150. This application process is expected to begin following approval of the discretionary application criteria later this month.
Government guidance means that rebate payments can be distributed up to October 2022, so residents in Band A to D properties who do not pay Council Tax by direct debit, and residents eligible for discretionary payments, will have a window of opportunity of a number of months to make online applications. Both these groups of residents are expected to total around 20,000 households in Reading.
Residents who do not have access to the online application form can contact the team by phone on 0118 937 3727 to make their application. This process is currently expected to be available in two weeks.
There are additionally organisations such as Reading CAB , Reading Age UK, Reading Welfare Rights or Reading Communicare who can help residents who may be struggling to fill in the application form.
Residents are reminded that under the Government’s scheme, households in Council Tax Bands A – D are eligible for the rebate and that the rebate will not have to be repaid. Residents not sure which band they are in can check their Council Tax account online, refer to their hard copy Council Tax bill or check it on Gov.uk's Council Tax band checker.
More information on the Council Tax rebate scheme. This webpage will be updated regularly throughout the process.