Agenda item

Report from the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:

That Cabinet:

1.    Approve the proposed approach to providing the £150 Council Tax rebate payment to liable Council Tax payers in bands A-D.

2.    Approve the Councils proposed discretionary scheme as set out within section 2.17 of this report.

Consideration was given to the report which outlined how the Council intended to administer the Energy Bills Rebate scheme that had been announced in February 2022. The purpose of the scheme was to help households with rising energy bills. The guidance for the Council Tax Rebate and Discretionary Fund had been released on 23rd February, 2022, with the Council allocated £16.421m for the Council Tax Rebate scheme and £0.616m for the discretionary fund.

The main scheme required the Council to design a process that, in Rotherham’s case, would allow up to 112,000 households in bands A-D to receive a payment of £150. The discretionary scheme would allow the Authority to provide support to other energy bill payers who were ineligible for the rebate scheme. The Council’s proposed scheme would equally share the discretionary funding using the same criteria as the main scheme but across all households in bands E-H. It was estimated that this scheme would generate a payment from the Council to these households of £82. All households in the Borough that were liable for Council Tax, provided they were not second homes, would therefore receive some level of support.

During the meeting the Leader explained that those residents who paid their Council Tax via Direct Debit would receive the rebate back directly into their accounts by the end of April 2022. Those who did not pay by Direct Debit would be sent a cheque by the end of May 2022. It was confirmed that there was no application process; the Council would automatically pay the rebate as per the scheme.

Resolved:-

1.    That Cabinet approve the proposed approach to providing the £150 Council Tax rebate payment to liable Council Tax payers in bands A-D.

2.    That Cabinet approve the Council’s proposed discretionary scheme as set out within section 2.17 of the report submitted.