Local authorities across England have warned of delays to residents receiving the Government’s £150 council tax rebate.
The Local Government Association has reported that residents who do not pay their council tax via direct debit could be waiting the longest due to their details not already being on the council’s files.
While some payments have already been made by councils, others across the UK have spoken of software issues also causing delays. But what is the situation in the North East?
The warning of delays for people who do not pay by direct debit is repeated across the seven local authority areas in the North East.
Read more: Fury over ‘unjust’ council tax as North East households hit with some of England's highest bills
First, to qualify for the £150 payment, you must meet the following criteria.
* Your property is in Council Tax band A to D (or band E where there is a disabled band reduction)
* You are liable to pay Council Tax
* The property is your sole and main residence on April 1, 2022
* You do not currently pay any Council Tax because you receive maximum Council Tax support and have no Council Tax to pay
* The property is in exemption classes N, S, U or W. N - properties occupied solely by student; S - occupied by under eighteen year olds only; U - occupied only by severely mentally impaired persons; W - annexe occupied by dependant relative.
This is the updated advice being given to people across the region by their local councils.
Newcastle City Council
I f you pay by Direct Debit, your payment will be made to your bank account after the first payment of council tax has been received and cleared. We expect Direct Debit payers who pay between April 1 and 11 to receive their payments by the end of the first week in May. Those who pay after that date will receive the £150 within four weeks of their council tax payment date.
If you don't pay by Direct Debit, we will be writing to every household that is eligible and does not pay by Direct Debit inviting them to make an application. These letters will be sent out over a period of weeks throughout May. You can pay your council tax by Direct Debit by completing a short form. However, depending on your first payment date you may still be invited to apply for the £150. If you do not have a bank account, you will be able to ask us to make the payment to your council tax account to reduce your balance. Full details here.
Gateshead Council
For eligible residents who pay by direct debit and have recently had a payment received and cleared, we expect payment to be made from the end of April 2022. This will be paid directly to the account that we use to collect your payments.
If you have recently set up a direct debit, once a payment has been received and cleared, we will look to get a payment issued within three weeks. However, depending on your first direct debit payment date we may invite you to apply online for the £150 energy rebate.
If you do not pay by direct debit, w e will be writing to every Council Tax payer that is eligible and does not pay by direct debit inviting them to make an online application. These letters will be sent out to Council Tax payers from the end of April and throughout May. Full details here.
Northumberland County Council
If you pay council tax by direct debit, we will use this information to pay £150 direct into your bank account. We aim to make payments by early May 2022. If we don’t have your bank account details, there will be an online form that you can use to give us your bank details. We will write to you when this is ready.
We are developing other options for those who cannot engage with our online process or who don’t use a bank account regularly. We will share this information when we have it. Where we cannot find another way to pay someone the £150 they are eligible for, we will deduct it from their council tax account in September. Full details here.
Durham County Council
If you are eligible and pay your council tax by direct debit, you will receive a payment into your bank account. We aim to make payments between April 22 and May 13. If you have recently switched to paying by direct debit your payment will be made within two weeks of your first successful payment.
Anyone who does not pay by direct debit will be sent a letter by mid-May with details of how to apply for the rebate to be paid into your bank account. Alternative payment methods will be available, however, these payments will take longer to receive. Full details here.
North Tyneside Council
We are dealing with about 94,000 Band A to D properties within North Tyneside, so this is a significant challenge and Central Government are proposing that these payments are made by September 30, 2022. We will do our best to make these payments as soon as possible and are aiming to make the first payments in May 2022 for those that have paid their first Council Tax payment by direct debit.
If we don’t have your bank account details, we will invite you to claim online and you can use this to give us your bank details. We will write to you when this is ready to invite application. We are developing other options for those who don’t use a bank account regularly.
We will share this information on this webpage, when it is ready. In some instances we can deduct the £150 from the council tax account, we will advise you when we can do this when we invite you to claim. Payments onto the Council Tax accounts are likely to be processed in September. Full details here.
South Tyneside Council
P ayments are expected to be made from the end of April onwards. We are awaiting the necessary software needed to process payments to our Direct Debit customers and confirmation of the process for non Direct Debit customers.
Everyone will get the money that they are entitled to. We have a proven track record in supporting households to access support that is due to them. Full details here.
Are you still waiting for a council tax rebate? Let us know in the comments
Sunderland City Council
Residents are beginning to receive their Council Tax Energy Rebate.
The payments are to residents who currently pay their Council Tax by direct debit. Residents who have recently become direct debit payers will start to receive their payment from April 25 providing their bank details have been validated. Residents are encouraged to pay their Council Tax by direct debit for convenience and efficiency reasons. It is also helping the council to automatically pay the Council Tax Energy Rebate to residents. Full details here.
