Households on low income in South Oxfordshire will soon receive a one-off payment to help with the rising cost of energy bills.
Those living in properties which are in council tax bands E to H and who are in receipt of council tax support will receive a single one-off payment of up to £178.00.
Households in council tax bands A to D in receipt of council tax support, who should have already received the £150.00 mandatory Council Tax Energy Rebate – either paid directly into their bank account or deducted from their council tax bill, will receive a single ‘top up’ payment of up to £28.00.
To be eligible for this payment, households must have been resident in the property on 1 April 2022.
The payments are being provided via the government funded Discretionary Council Tax Energy Rebate and the money does not have to be repaid. This scheme is different to the mandatory £150.00 Council Tax Energy Rebate.
South Oxfordshire District Council is putting arrangements in place to make the payment to households eligible for the discretionary scheme as soon as possible. Here’s how the payments will be made:
If a household pays their council tax by direct debit and passes the required validation checks –they should be able to receive the money directly into their bank account. The district council expects to start making these payments to all qualifying direct debit households by 15 August.
If a household is not on direct debit or they fail the validation checks – it will take longer to make these payments as the council will need to write to the household to confirm their bank details.
To ensure the council can pay the money as quickly as possible, residents are asked not to contact the council to chase the payment please.
All eligible households will receive their money by 28 September 2022.
