Delayed rebate due to steps to combat fraud
A£150 council tax rebate will be paid a month later than expected in Halton due to “software changes”.
Residents who pay their bill by direct debit had been expected to receive the payment in April under a Government scheme aimed at easing the burden of rising energy prices and the cost of living.
Halton Borough Council has said the cash will not be transferred in the area until May, however.
A spokesman for the local authority said this was due to “software changes” that the council needed to make to enable payments to go through.
He added the Government has advised that the rebate should not be paid until after the first instalment of council tax for the financial year to “reduce fraud and erroneous payments”.
The rebate is open to residents living in council tax bands
A-D, with a discretionary scheme available to support people on low incomes in bands E-H who are responsible for energy bills.
Halton Council’s website said payments will begin during the week commencing May 2.
Bill payers who do not pay via direct debit are due to receive a letter inviting them to apply around April 11.
The council spokesman said: “£150 energy rebate payments will only be made with effect from May 2022.
“This is due to software changes that are required to facilitate the payments, as well as annual billing and year end processes, it was not possible to install and test the new processes to enable payment to be made in April.
“Additionally, the Government’s own advice recommends waiting until after the first council tax instalment of the new financial year has been collected by direct debit as a measure to reduce fraud and erroneous payments.
“The qualifying date is the end of the day on April 1, 2022.
“Thus, in order to allow residents time to notify us of a change of address which may have recently occurred, and for our systems to be updated to reflect any changes, it is prudent to wait a few weeks.
“This will reduce the amount of erroneous payments made and the need to recover them at a later date.”