‘Council must act on energy rebates’
THOUSANDS of people in line for a £150 energy rebate need to see the money in their bank accounts soon, the leader of Carmarthenshire Labour said.
Cllr Rob James has urged Plaid Cymru – the majority party in Carmarthenshire – to “get a grip of the situation”.
A Plaid spokesman said council staff needed time to process the tens of thousands of payments, and that some other councils in Wales have said this would take months. The council said it aimed to start paying eligible households from next week.
A nationwide £150 energy rebate for households in council tax bands A to D was announced by the Welsh Government in early April to help people with the cost of living crisis. It was in response to an average £693 rise in the energy cap for millions of people across the UK.
Councils, which process these £150 payments, have also received some discretionary funding to help those who need it the most.
Cllr James claimed that council tax A to D households in Carmarthenshire who paid their council tax by direct debit might not receive their £150 payment until the end of June, with taxpayers who paid by other means not expected to receive it until the end of the summer.
Cllr James said neighbouring Swansea and Neath Port Talbot councils had already provided the support or were in the process of doing so. He has now written to Plaid’s new leader, Cllr Darren Price, but did not blame in any way the council staff who process payments.
“It is deeply disappointing that the cost-of-living payments in Carmarthenshire have been delayed once more, especially when residents were promised these payments by the end of April initially,” said Cllr James. “It’s time that this Plaid Cymru administration got a grip of the situation, as these payments are needed now.”
The Plaid spokesman said: “Carmarthenshire, with 190,000 residents, is the fourth-largest in Wales by population, so obviously staff need time to process the tens of thousands of payments. The timescale is not exceptional. Indeed, some councils have said it will take months to process the payments.”
He added that the new administration would not actually be in place until the council’s annual general meeting on May 25. Plaid has 38 out of 75 councillors following last week’s council elections.
The Plaid spokesman said that after the annual meeting the new administration will set out “a bold vision to address the cost of living crisis”.
A council spokeswoman said its aim was to start paying out to eligible households from next week.
“Households who do not pay by direct debit will receive a letter next week explaining the steps that they require to take to receive their payment,” she said.
The £150 rebate, funded by central government, will cost £9.5m in Carmarthenshire. The council has also received a £1.5m discretionary fund on top. Deciding how to allocate the £1.5m will require a political decision at cabinet.
“This will be done as soon as possible and as soon as committees reconvene following the recent local elections,” said the council spokeswoman.
Swansea’s Labour council said last month that it was the first authority in Wales to roll out £150 council tax rebates.
Payments started to be rolled out automatically from April 8 to households in the Swansea area.
The Welsh Government said this week that the £152m scheme was being delivered by local authorities on behalf of the Welsh Government.
Payments will be made as a single payment directly into people’s bank accounts if the local authority holds that information. Where this information is not held, eligible households will need to complete a simple registration form. Local authorities will contact all eligible households to ask for the necessary details.
Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said: “This payment is providing much-needed relief to Welsh households, helping people cope with increasingly challenging circumstances.
“Rising bills and rising prices will stretch budgets and force people into difficult decisions. This £150 payment is one of the ways in which we are alleviating some of that pressure.
“Welsh councils have responded quickly to this crisis and I want to thank them for their efforts in getting this scheme up and running.
“We’ll continue to do everything we can to provide support, but many of the key levers for change – most importantly welfare support – lie in Westminster. The UK Government needs to join us in providing a full crisis response, providing urgent support to people.”