People who haven't yet received the £150 cost of living payment from their local council are being urged to apply before the deadline to avoid missing out. In February then-chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a £150 council tax rebate for people in England living in properties in Band A to Band D for council tax. The Welsh Government later confirmed it would offer a £150 cost of living payment to all households who live in properties in council tax bands A to D, as well as recipients of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme in all bands. However, it was left up to each individual council to decide how and when it will administer the payments.
In May the Welsh Government said around 332,000 people had gotten their payments so far, meaning thousands more in Wales are yet to receive theirs. This week we asked each local authority in Wales how many people it had administered the payment to so far, and what people who haven't yet received the payment need to do. Here is what they said and what you need to do to get your payment, depending on where you live.
Read more: Cost of living payment: The people who will and won’t receive £326 from July 14
Blaenau Gwent
Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council said 25,314 (84.1%) of those eligible had been paid, with 15.4% still to register for the payment. Those remaining are being processed at present and registration will remain open until September 30, 2022. Those who don't pay council tax by direct debit should have received a letter asking them to register with the council so it can process their payments.
Bridgend
A Bridgend County Borough Council spokesperson said: "At present 65% of those eligible for the cost of living payment have had their payment processed. The council tax payers who pay by direct debit have received their payments automatically and the non-direct debit payers have been sent emails or letters inviting them to apply. All applications will be processed promptly."
Caerphilly
To date Caerphilly County Borough Council has paid 75% of all eligible households for the main scheme. It said all payments will be made by September 30, 2022, the closing date. For those who haven't received the payment, many will have received a letter asking them to register to do so. You can register using the online form here or call 01443 863230.
Cardiff
Cardiff Council has paid 78,300 households - around 90% of those eligible - totalling £11.745 million. It has written to eligible households inviting them to apply, and is processing new applications every week. You can find out how to apply here.
Carmarthenshire
A Carmarthenshire Council spokesperson said: "We have received applications from 93.3% of eligible parties (62,333 people) and have paid 91.5% of these applications to date. We working with the customers to verify the banking details provided for the cases received and awaiting payment. A reminder has been sent to all parties that have not yet applied."
Ceredigion
The Ceredigion Council website says the majority of eligible residents that were set up to pay their council tax by direct debit before May 26 should have received the payment into their bank account by Tuesday May 31.
For eligible residents not on direct debit the council is allowing collection of the payment from the Post Office, meaning payments will be made faster than the usual application process will allow. It said the scheme would be operational from mid-June and it would be contacting residents.
Conwy
A Conwy Council spokesperson said: "Of the eligible households, over 24,000 who pay by direct debit have received the £150 payment direct to their bank account. There are approximately a further 13,000 households who do not pay by direct debit and they will receive a letter authorising collection of the payment at their local Post Office. We anticipate that this will start this month."
Denbighshire
23,317 people in the Denbighshire Council area have already received the £150 payment. The council said an email or text message will be sent to people where the council has their contact details and a mailshot is being issued to all other qualifying residents inviting them to apply. Application forms are available here.
Flintshire
A Flintshire Council spokesperson said: "Extensive work has already been undertaken to implement the cost of living main scheme and 43,100 individual payments of £150 have already been made to eligible households. This equates to a total funding distribution of nearly £6.5m and a take-up rate of 92.4% for eligible households.
"The main scheme remains open for applications up to September 30, 2022, and where we do not hold the bank account details to carry out an automated payment, we continue to promote applications and encourage eligible residents to apply using the simple registration form which is available on the council's website."
Gwynedd
A Gwynedd Council spokesperson said: “The £150 cost of living payment has been distributed to all eligible households in Gwynedd and we estimate that 39,907 eligible people have received their payment so far.
“Of this total, 22,390 people received direct payments into their bank accounts in mid-May, which is 100% of those who were eligible and were able to receive a bank transfer payment.
“All of the remaining 17,096 people have received letters authorising the collection of the money from the Post Office. The letters were issued between June 4 and 18. Take-up rates are very high and measures are in place to provide alternative arrangements for those unable to reach a Post Office.”
Isle of Anglesey
An Anglesey Council spokesperson said: "Out of the 34,000 properties on Anglesey, 22,684 are eligible to receive the payment. We are providing those eligible with vouchers which are being distributed at a rate of 2,000 a week. Around 10,000 had gone out up to the end of last week, and another 2000 went out on Monday July 4. Out of the 10,000 distributed up to the end of last week, so far 9688 had been cashed as of Monday July 4.
"Around another 10,000 vouchers are set to be distributed over the next five weeks. Once this has been completed, we will assess how many of the vouchers have not been cashed and see whether it is possible to offer £150 to this group (as some may decide not to use the voucher)."
Merthyr Tydfil
A Merthyr Tydfil Council spokesperson said: "We have around 26,00 eligible householders in Merthyr Tydfil. We have already paid 13,563 customers that pay their Council Tax through Direct Debit. These payments were made through BACS from May 11 to June 18.
"Since June 24 we have been inviting those who do not pay by direct debit to apply for the payment. As at 10am on Tuesday July 5 we have received 1,297 applications, with 262 payments made as at Monday July 4. Further payments will be approved by the end of this week."
Monmouthshire
A Monmouthshire County Council spokesperson said: "To date payments have been made to 87% of eligible households under the main scheme. We are aiming to close the main scheme to registrations on July 8, 2022. Thereafter we are working with the Post Office to issue ‘vouchers’ to identified households who haven’t registered for the payment. Recipients will have until the September 30, 2022 to redeem these vouchers for cash at their local Post office.
Neath Port Talbot
The Neath Port Talbot Council says most people would have been given the payment automatically by April 25. "If we cannot pay it automatically into your bank account you will be sent a letter inviting you to apply for the payment. You must wait for this letter before trying to apply. The letter will give you the reference numbers you need to make the claim," it says.
"You should receive your letter by May 25. If you do not receive your letter by May 25 but believe you meet the criteria for the award please email the team at costofliving@npt.gov.uk."
Newport
A Newport City Council spokesperson said: "At the moment we have paid 40,548 households which is just over 80% of all eligible households. There are a number of queries being worked through but we estimate that around 7,000 eligible households have yet to register for a payment, [and] they need to do this before 30 September 30, 2022." You can apply to register here.
Pembrokeshire
A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesperson said: "Pembrokeshire County Council estimated that there were 37,000 households entitled to the payment. So far 27,677 payments have been made.
"As applicants have until the end of September 2022 to apply, it is currently difficult to say when all payments will be made. Payments will be distributed until all eligible payments have been completed." Letters are being sent to those who haven't received it asking them to apply, which they can do here.
Powys
A Powys County Council spokesperson said: "Out of the 36,000 that qualify for the Cost of Living Scheme, Powys County Council has paid 30,185. For those households that the council does not have bank details for, they have until 30 September to complete their application."
Reminders were sent out last month to those who have yet to apply. You can apply here.
Rhondda Cynon Taf
A Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council spokesperson said: "91,767 people were identified as being eligible for a £150 cost of living payment and to date 87,072 or 95% of these have received a payment. The council initially made contact with residents in May, inviting them to register for a payment and followed that by sending a second letter (reminder) at the end of June to eligible households who had not registered."
Swansea
A Swansea Council spokesperson said: "Almost 68,000 households in Swansea have now received a £150 cost of living payment. Swansea Council has worked to get the money into people’s bank accounts as quickly as possible.
"Just under 45,000 eligible households in Swansea who pay their council tax by direct debit and live in a Band A to D property, were paid automatically. Around 8,000 households who have been previously been paid a Winter Fuel Grant by Swansea Council should have also received the payment.
"Other householders living in Band A to D properties or those living in any band property who are in receipt of the means tested Council Tax Reduction need to register for the grant with a closing date of Friday September 30, 2022. More than 15,000 have registered. However we estimate there are more who may qualify and are yet to register and we would encourage them to do so." You can register here.
Torfaen
A Torfaen County Borough Council spokesperson said its estimated total is 34,105 and that it had paid 31,376 of those to date. "We will be issuing Post Office Vouchers from July 18 or those customers who have not been paid but identified as being entitled. Those vouchers will remain open until September 30 when the scheme closes."
Vale of Glamorgan
A Vale of Glamorgan Council spokesperson said: "Of the 32,850 households that were identified as being eligible for the £150 cost of living payments, 27,844 households have now received payment. The remaining 5,006 households have received a letter advising them how to claim their payment. After the customer has completed their application, the council will process their payment. The closing date is September 30, 2022." You can apply here.
Wrexham
A Wrexham Council spokesperson said it has paid just under 60% of those eligible. "The main scheme is due to cease at the end of September - however the council anticipates the large volume of payments will have been made during August."
For non direct debit cases in Wrexham, letters will be sent out from June 27 onwards. You will need to wait for the letter, which will direct you to a website to provide bank details so the council can make the payment.
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