We have sent letters to householders who don’t pay by direct debit to invite them to claim their £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate.

The letters are being sent to householders who do not pay by their Council Tax by direct debit, who live in band A-D properties and who we believe are eligible. 

Remaining householders who have a direct debit set up and have not yet received their Council Tax Energy Rebate will also receive a letter to apply.

We will not be able to make payment by cheque or in cash.

Please ensure you have the following information before beginning your application.

• Your unique access code given in your letter.
• Your Council Tax reference number (if you do not know this, please see our frequently asked questions)
• Your bank details.

You are eligible if you are a person or persons named on the Council Tax account who meet all of the following criteria at 1 April 2022

1. Your home is valued in council tax bands A – D. 
2. Your home is valued in band E, but has an alternative valuation band D as a result of the disabled band reduction scheme.
3. It is the council tax payer’s sole or main residence;
4. It is a chargeable dwelling, or is in one of the following exemption classes

• N – property occupied only by students
• S – property occupied by only by people under 18 years of age
• U - property occupied only by people who are severely mentally impaired
• W - self contained annexes occupied by elderly or disabled relatives

No energy rebate will be paid in respect of:

• A property that has no permanent resident and is someone’s second home
• An unoccupied property (for the purposes of calculating council tax)
• Where the council tax payer is exempt from paying council for any reason other than one of the four classes referred to earlier
• Where the person who is liable to pay the council tax (or would be were the property not exempt) is a local authority, a corporate body or other body such as a housing association, the government or governmental body
• If you live in a Ministry of Defence property, your payment will not be made by South Somerset District Council, the MOD will be in touch with you.

If you pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit, we already have your bank details and will pay the money straight into your bank account. The vast majority of Council Tax direct debit payers have now been paid their Council Tax energy rebate, and those remaining who have not yet received it, will soon receive a letter to apply.

Eligibility for the £150 rebate is based on the information we hold on our Council Tax records on 1 April 2022.

We are likely to be notified of some changes of Council Tax payer, or changes to Council Tax bands after this date that apply retrospectively to 1 April 2022.

Where we are advised after 1 April 2022 of a change of Council Tax payer that will affect liability at 1 April 2022 we will take reasonable steps to clawback payment from the person or people who received payment but should not have been named on the Council Tax records on 1 April 2022. We will also take reasonable steps to pay the person or people who should have been named on the Council Tax records on 1 April 2022.

Where the council is notified of a change of valuation band, either upwards or downwards, after 1 April 2022, regardless of when the change takes effect, the change will be ignored for the purpose of this rebate scheme. Any payments we make will be based on our records at 1 April 2022.

The exception is where a property is a new build and at 1 April 2022 not yet banded. In these cases, eligibility will be determined based on the official band subsequently allocated by the Valuation Office Agency, (VOA), provided this has an effective date before or on 1 April 2022. However, the final payment date for the rebate is 30 September 2022. No payments for whatever reason can be made after that date.

The discretionary energy rebate scheme has been designed based on the general guidance issued by the Government in February 2022 and in conjunction with Mendip, Somerset West and Taunton and Sedgemoor District Councils.

Am I eligible?

As at the 1^st April 2022 to the person or persons named on the Council Tax account who meet the following criteria will be eligible for a payment: -

• A single payment of £150 will be paid to households living in a Council Tax band E to H who were in receipt of Council Tax Support as at 1^stApril 2022
• A single top up payment of £27 to households within Council Tax bands A to H who receive a £150 energy rebate payment under either the main or discretionary scheme who were in in receipt of Council Tax Support as at 1^stApril 2022
• The remaining fund has been set aside for those who do not qualify under (a) or (b) or a main scheme payment and
• Is directly responsible for household energy bills; and
• Is experiencing financial hardship and struggling to meet their energy costs

The payment under this part will be £150 and will be identified by Citizen’s Advice South Somerset through a full financial assessment and referred for a payment. This route also means that households struggling financially will be able to access additional support and debt advice.

A copy of the South Somerset District Council’s Discretionary Scheme Policy can be at the bottom of this page.

Who is not eligible?

No energy rebate will be paid in respect of: -

• A property where no one is a permanent resident
• A persons second home
• A property which is exempt because it is a Halls of Residence or living accommodation for UK armed forces owned by the Secretary of State

How will I receive my payment?

Households in properties banded E-H that have been identified as eligible: 

• Direct debit payers will receive their £150 + £27 top up automatically. You do not need to do anything. 

We aim to start making these payments shortly.

Non direct debit payers will receive a letter inviting them to apply in due course. We will update this page when we have started sending out letters.

• If you have already received a main scheme payment of £150 by bank transfer, you will receive your extra £27 in due course. You do not need to do anything.

We aim to start making these payments from 1^st August 2022.

We are not able to make payments by cheque or in cash.

If we are unsuccessful in contacting you but where we are of the opinion that the household meets the eligibility criteria, the discretionary award will be credited to the Council Tax Account if appropriate to do so.

All payments must be made by 30^th November 2022 and the closing date for all Discretionary Scheme applications is 23^rd November.

You can read the full South Somerset District Council’s Discretionary Scheme Policy here

How do I find my Council Tax reference number?

If you do not know your Council Tax reference number, here is how to find it:

• On your Annual Council Tax Bill (top right hand corner under date of issue)

• By logging into your My account online

• By requesting a copy through our enquiry form
(Choose Council Tax Copy Bill in the drop down after you have entered your personal details.) A copy of your bill will be posted to you within 10 working days of us actioning your request.

What band is my property in?

Your Council Tax band is shown on your Council Tax bill below your reference number on the top right hand side.

Alternatively, you can check your band by entering your postcode on the Valuation Office Agency’s (VOA) website.  As the effective date for the Council Tax Energy Rebate is 1 April 2022, changes made to the Council Tax band of your home after this date will not be taken into consideration.

What if I move house after April 1st?
You will be entitled to the Council Tax Energy Rebate for the address you occupied on 1 April 2022.

What if my new build doesn’t have a valuation band yet?
When the VOA provide the band, you will then be entitled to the Council Tax Energy Rebate as long as the chargeable band is in A to D and it is backdated to 1 April 2022 or before.

What if my Council Tax account wasn’t set up on April 1st? (due to SSDC backlog for example)
As long as we hold the information needed to amend our records by September 2022 and any amendment is backdated to 1 April 2022 or earlier, and you meet the main scheme criteria, then you will be entitled to the rebate when your Council Tax account is set up.

My property is showing as unoccupied, but it isn’t.
You should supply us with the full details of occupation (names of occupiers and effective dates) so we can amend our records by visiting Contact us | South Somerset District Council

The name on my bank account doesn’t match the name on my Council Tax account. (married / divorced etc)
You should clarify the reason for the discrepancy in writing/email as we may need to amend our Council Tax records. We may be able to process a payment automatically or we may require you to complete the online application process. Please report this by visiting Contact us | South Somerset District Council

I am a joint tenant – will we get £75 each?
No, the guidance states that one payment of £150 should be made to each household regardless of the number of liable council tax payers. The local authority is not able to split the payment down into parts. If the Council Tax is paid via Direct Debit, then the full £150 rebate should be paid into the bank account that is used to pay the Council Tax.  

I don’t want to set up a Direct Debit because I have Council Tax arrears
Any new Direct Debit that is set up will cover current/future year instalments only. It will not be set up to cover any summonsed arrears. You will also receive a demand notice in advance of any payments being taken informing you of the amounts and payment dates.

I am exempt from paying Council Tax
If you live in the property (main residence) and fulfil the other qualifying criteria, then you will still be entitled to the payment. On the assumption that you won’t have a Direct Debit set up, we will require you to complete the online application process. Details of how to apply will be announced in due course so please keep checking back to this webpage. If your exemption is due to the property being vacant then you will not qualify for the rebate.

I have a bank account which doesn’t allow Direct Debits
We will require you to complete the online application process. Details of how to apply will be announced in due course so please keep checking back to this webpage.

My bank account is overdrawn – how do I make sure I get the money?
You can speak to your bank about “first right of appropriation”. This gives you the right to tell your bank/building society how you want the money paid into your account to be used. Further advice/sample letter can be found at National Debtline.    https://www.nationaldebtline.org/sample-letters/ask-your-bank-pay-partic...

Where does the money for the Council Tax Energy Bills Rebate come from? 

The government is providing the funds as part of a package of support to help households with rising energy bills, worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23.  The council tax rebate is part of the Government’s Energy Bills Rebate package. 

Do I have to pay the Council Tax Energy Bills Rebate back? 

If you are an eligible householder and have received the £150 Council Tax Energy Bills Rebate you do not have to pay it back. 

Does the £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate get deducted from my council tax bill? 

This ‘rebate’ is part of the government's Energy Bills Rebate package and is to support residents with rising energy costs. It is not a reduction in your council tax bill. 

Why were people who pay their Council Tax by direct debit given the Energy Bills Rebate first? 

We are working our way through approximately 60,000 eligible households and want everyone who is eligible to receive their £150 energy bills rebate as soon as possible. As we already hold bank details for those who pay by direct debit it is efficient to issue payments to these residents first. In the meantime we are working hard to find the best way to pay those who do not pay by direct debit and will published how to claim as soon as possible. Everyone who is eligible will receive the £150 in due course and the government have asked that everyone who is eligible be paid by September. 

I pay by direct debit but have not received my Council Tax Energy Rebate

It could be that there is an anomaly on your file that is preventing the payment process, for example, if a customer's bank details do not match the name on the Council Tax bill.  We have deployed staff to check records for anomalies and will contact customers to apply for the rebate, along with those that do not pay by Direct Debit if we are unable to resolve this in house.  If a mismatch can be corrected or resolved, providing a successful Direct Debit payment has been made, these customers will receive their £150 Council Tax Rebate at the next payment run (currently once per week).  

Why don’t people in Band E and above receive the Council Tax Energy Bills Rebate? 

For those not eligible for a rebate under the core criteria in council tax bands A-D in England, but are struggling to meet the costs of rising energy bills (including those in higher council tax bands) a discretionary fund is being launched by the Government. This will be made available through local authorities and we will be informing residents with more information and how to apply soon. Please keep checking our web page.

What happens to people who pay reduced or no Council Tax? 

If you live in the property (main residence) and fulfil the other qualifying criteria then you will be entitled to the payment. On the assumption that you won’t have a direct debit set up, we will require you to complete the online application process. Details of how to apply will be announced in due course so please keep checking back to our web page

 I live in MOD service accomodation - how will I get my rebate?

Please click here for latest information from the Ministry of Defence.

What is the difference between the £150 Council Tax Energy Bills Rebate and the £200 that is coming later in the year?

The £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate is a one off payment made to all eligible householders to help with the cost of rising energy prices. This does not have to be paid back.

The £200 Energy Bill Discount Scheme later this year will give a £200 discount on energy bills for domestic electricity customers in Great Britain. The government will provide funding to all suppliers for them to pass on to their domestic energy customers from October. This will be paid back automatically over the next 5 years.

Every year thousands of people find themselves in crisis. The key thing is to take action now and reach out to get the help you need.

Please find time to visit our dedicated webpage where you will find more information about the help and support available in South Somerset here.