Homes get cost-of-living payment

MORE than 31,000 homes in Carmarthenshire have started to receive a £150 cost-of-living payment to help tackle the cost-of-living crisis.

Carmarthenshire Council is making a single payment directly into the bank accounts of all eligible households that pay their council tax by direct debit.

For all other eligible households where the council does not hold bank details (approximately 40,000), letters have started to go out with information on how to apply for the payment online.

Householders who do not have online access are being advised to attend one of the authority’s Hwbs in Llanelli, Ammanford or Carmarthen, where customer service staff will be able to provide support.

Residents should take the letter containing the access code, as well as proof of residency such as a driving licence, utility bill or bank statement (no older than three months). The council aims to make payment within 20 working days from application, as long as there are no queries with the information provided.

The cost-of-living payments are being provided to all households in properties in council tax bands A to D and all households which receive support from the Council Tax Reduction Scheme regardless of their council tax band.

The payments are being delivered by local authorities across Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government to support households as the country recovers from the pandemic and to help people deal with the impact of increasing energy and other costs.

The public are being assured that the council is working as quickly as possible to process these payments and that householders will be contacted directly if there are any queries.