Energy rebate scheme

The Government announced on 3 February 2022 measures to help protect millions of households from rising energy costs in 2022 to 2023. These measures include a one-off £150 non-repayable rebate for households in England in council tax bands A to D. This is a payment of £150 per household and not a reduction off your bill. Funding has also been provided for councils to operate a Discretionary Scheme to support households that do not qualify for the main Energy Rebate Scheme.

More information can be found on the GOV.UK website.

How you will be paid

Payments to eligible households paying their Council Tax by Direct Debit are now being issued. This will go directly into the bank account used to pay your Council Tax bill, it will appear on your bank statement with the payment reference Cheshire West. Payment will only be made if a successful instalment to pay your Council Tax has already been claimed since April 2022. Some payments to Direct Debit payers need to undergo additional administrative checks so that we can make the payments to the correct person (e.g. where the Direct Debit payee differs to the liable person for council tax). This will involve us writing to you by letter to clarify bank or Council Tax liability details.

If you do not pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit, we will be sending letters to those who are eligible, and these letters will contain details on how you can provide the Council with your bank details in order to receive payment.

Discretionary scheme

I'm not in a band A to D, but I still need help

The Government has announced a package of measures to help households with rising energy bills, which included £144M for discretionary support to those who are not eligible to receive an Energy Rebate in the main scheme. We have been allocated £623,850 for a discretionary scheme to support residents and our scheme will operate from 1 April to 30 November 2022 or until the fund has been fully allocated. Full details of the scheme can be found here on our discretionary policy (Word, 36KB).

Phase 1 of the scheme will be to distribute the fund to those residents who meet one of the following criteria:

Households in receipt of full Council Tax Reduction, in any Band, on 1 April 2022 will receive an additional ‘top up’ payment of £30 which you will not need to apply for.

Household that are in energy arrears and/or on low fixed incomes and have not received an Energy Rebate payment will be considered under Phase 2 of the discretionary scheme. Awards will be made until the funding is exhausted on a first come, first served basis.

Exclusions

No award will be made to a local authority, a corporate body or other body such as a housing association, the government or governmental body.

How will you be paid?

If you are eligible for the payment, you will receive it in one of the following ways:

1. If you meet the eligibility criteria listed above and already pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit, there is no need to apply, we will pay your award directly into your bank account. You don't need to contact us about your payment, we will send it to you as soon as we can.
2. If you meet the eligibility criteria listed above and don’t pay your Council Tax by Direct Debit or if you are making an application because you have a liability for rent but not Council Tax, and are also liable for your own energy use, your payment will be made via a Post Office voucher. The voucher will contain a barcode you can use to pick up your cash payment from any Post Office branch. In order to receive payment you will be required to provide proof of your identity (originals only) from one of the following options at any Post Office branch before 30 September 2022.

If you are unable to cash your Post Office Voucher you can contact us via our general enquiry form, or alternatively contact us on 0300 123 7022 Mon to Fri 8am to 7pm.

If there are remaining funds a second phase of payments will be made.

• this phase will target those who are in energy arrears and/or on low fixed incomes and have not received an award under the main scheme or phase 1
• an application window will be available, and awards made until the funding is exhausted on a first come, first served basis

Appeals

Discretionary Energy Rebate awards and refusals are not made or limited by legislation and do not carry any right of review or appeal to the authority or any Tribunal or Court.