Council tax rebates issued to eligible Mansfield households

Earlier this year, the Government announced every household in council tax bands A to D would receive a £150 rebate, as part of a wider package of support to help with the cost-of-living crisis.

These payments started landing in people's bank accounts in April – but new figures from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show that 12,781 – or 25.6 per cent – of the 49,976 eligible households in Mansfield were still waiting as of the end of July.

The council says all payments have now been processed and issued.

Payment has generally happened automatically for those who pay their council tax bills by direct debit, but could take longer to reach council taxpayers without direct debit arrangements, as local authorities need to attempt to contact them about the rebate scheme and carry out checks, the Local Government Association said earlier this year.

A council spokeswoman said: “The council has now processed and issued payments to all households in the district, as of the end of August.

“Some residents have been paid by direct debit and the rest have been issued as cash vouchers to redeem at a post office.

“There may be some delay in residents receiving the last batch of vouchers due to delivery strikes, but all have been processed and sent.

“We encourage residents to cash in their vouchers at any UK post office by September 9.

“Any vouchers not cashed in after this time will be credited to the resident’s Council Tax account. After this time, they can request a refund, or leave as a credit to their account.”

The Government has also pledged £144m in discretionary funds to help those not covered by the main scheme, or provide further support to people who are, such as those who have a council tax reduction due to a disability, but do not live in a band A-D property – no households in Mansfield had been paid from the discretionary fund as of the end of July.

Across England, 2.6 million households were still waiting to receive support at the end of July, out of more than 19m eligible.

The incoming Prime Minister – to be announced next week – has been urged to provide more support to tackle the soaring costs of fuel, food and basic goods.

A recent report by the Resolution Foundation think-tank proposed an energy support package worth tens of billions of pounds, to help Britons weather the squeeze on living standards.

Levelling Up Secretary Greg Clark said: “I’m pleased to see further progress in paying the council tax rebate out to the millions of households who are eligible to receive it.

“We want to make sure that those most in need receive the support that they are entitled to help households with the cost of living.

"This is why I am urging everyone to check their eligibility to receive the rebate and contact their councils if they have not.”

The DLUHC said anyone yet to obtain the payment should check mansfield.gov.uk and make a claim by the end of September.