COUNCIL Tax rebates in Rugby will be paid directly into the accounts of those who pay by Direct Debit depending on the date their payments go out.
Householders in properties in Council Tax bands A, B, C and D are eligible for the £150 Government Energy Rebate.
Rugby Borough Council (RBC) has this week started to conduct the background checks for residents who paid their council tax by Direct Debit on April 1. Further checks will be carried out in the week after residents have paid their April instalment.
The checks, which are necessary to protect residents from fraud, include making sure that bank details match Council Tax account records. Around 40,000 qualifying accounts will need to be checked.
Residents who do not pay Council Tax by Direct Debit will need to complete an online form or provide details to RBC’s customer service centre for an advisor to complete the form on their behalf. They will be contacted by the council with details of how to apply for the rebate in due course.
RBC has also been provided with funding that will allow it to make discretionary payments to residents in hardship who live in a band E, F, G or H property. The council will approve the scheme later this month, and hopes to publish more details on how residents can access the funds in early May.
The one-off £150 Government Energy Rebate is intended to offset some of the cost of increased energy bills, which have gone up by a national average of £693 a year – with a further rise expected in October.
The cost-of-living crisis has also seen Rugby residents’ average annual Council Tax bill go up by £71.
The average Council Tax bill in Rugby is now £567 more than it was in 2010-11, due in part to the phasing out of the Government’s Revenue Support Grant – which in previous years provided Warwickshire County Council with over £84million a year, and RBC with over £889,000.
Visit www.rugby.gov.uk/rebate for more information on the rebate scheme, including the target schedule for background checks and payments, information for residents who do not pay by Direct Debit, and details for residents in band E, F, G and H properties.
