28/04/22: Breckland Council releases £5m+ in £150 rebate payments

Residents in Breckland are being encouraged to check their bank accounts over the next few days as many are expected to shortly receive their £150 council tax rebate payment.

The Council Tax rebate scheme was announced by Central Government to provide a one-off payment of £150 to eligible householders to help counter the rising cost of energy bills.

Through the Anglia Revenues Partnership, which deals with all Council Tax and housing benefit processes on behalf of Breckland Council - as well as Fenland Council, East Cambridgeshire Council, East Suffolk Council and West Suffolk Council - almost £5.5m in rebate payments have now been released and are working their way electronically to local residents' bank accounts.

However, the council is only able to automatically process payments for people who paid their council tax by direct debit before 25 April 2022 and where their bank account details match those held on the Council Tax account.

Anyone who has recently signed up to pay by direct debit but whose first payment isn't due until May will receive the payment around 10 days after their first successful payment has been taken.

Meanwhile, eligible households who pay in other ways, or whose bank details cannot be verified, will still receive their £150 rebate, but in the first instance will receive a letter explaining how they can claim it.

Letters are expected to arrive in the first half of May. Anyone who doesn't respond by the end of May will not receive the £150 as a payment into their bank account - but will instead have the £150 applied as a reduction to their future Council Tax bills, so nobody misses out.

Cllr Phil Cowen, Breckland Council's Executive Member for Finance, Revenue and Benefits, said: "Processing the £150 Council Tax rebate grants for all our residents has been a huge undertaking involving millions of pounds and I'd like to thank the staff across the council and at the partnership for helping to get this important money to our residents as quickly as possible.

"More than 30,000 households will automatically be receiving their payments within the next few days and I urge non-direct debit payers to look out for their letter over the next couple of weeks."

Who is eligible for this payment?

To be eligible to receive this rebate payment householders must be liable for council tax on 1 April 2022, and:

• live in a property in council tax bands A to D, or
• live in a property in council tax band E and in receipt of the disabled band reduction, or
• live in a property where certain exemptions have been awarded.

Visit our Council Tax £150 rebate page for more information about the process, key dates and eligibility