Payments for the Cost of Living Support Scheme will begin this month.
Below are some key points of the scheme.
The Scheme is made up of 2 elements; a main scheme (related to certain council tax payers) and a discretionary scheme. Each local authority in Wales decides its own discretionary scheme within Welsh Government (WG) guidelines; the Council’s Cabinet will determine our policy and eligibility details will be published later in April.
The main scheme provides for a £150 ‘Cost-of-Living’ payment under two conditions:
A: Council Tax Reduction Scheme entitlement condition
If the householder(s) was in receipt of support through the Council Tax Reduction Scheme on 15 February 2022, they are automatically assessed as being entitled to a payment of £150 regardless of the valuation band in which their property is placed (A to I).
B: Council Tax Band condition
Households occupying properties in council tax Bands A to D are assessed as being entitled to a payment of £150 provided they satisfy all of the following criteria:
- liable for council tax on a property on 15 February 2022
- not in receipt of an exemption for that property on 15 February 2022
- living in that property as their main or primary residence on 15 February 2022
- responsible for paying the associated utility and other regularly incurred bills for that property on 15 February 2022.
Households living in properties valued as Band E but which receive a disability band reduction to Band D are eligible under the main scheme.
The £150 is not a rebate on the council tax bill, it is a payment to help with the rising cost of all utility bills.
There will be ONE payment per eligible household.
The main scheme will commence as soon as possible in April but, as around 70,000 households within Caerphilly CBC may be eligible, payments will take several months to complete. The scheme in Wales will run for around 6 months to 30/09/2022.
If you pay your council tax by direct debit, we expect to be able to make the payment direct to your bank account, without the need for you to register your details with us. We will be issuing these payments during April.
For all other eligible council tax payers, the Welsh Government main scheme will require a registration process via the Council’s website so we can collect your bank account details. An online form will be available during April on the Cost-of-Living Support Scheme website page when we are ready to start processing registrations. We will send a letter to households that we think may be eligible for support, inviting them to register their details using the online form. Letters will be issued over a number of weeks, starting towards the end of April.
Separate arrangements will need to be made for those people without internet access and/or where they do not hold a suitable bank account.
Most council tax payers who are exempt from paying the tax (for example, a household made up entirely of qualifying students, care leavers up to the age of 25, or people with a severe mental impairment) will fall into the discretionary phase of the scheme.
More details about the discretionary phase will appear here when they become available.
We urge residents to be mindful of emails, texts or telephone calls from suspicious sources offering information on the scheme, as this could be from someone who is trying to steal your personal information, such as your bank account details.
The Welsh Government scheme details are available here - Cost of Living Support Scheme: guide for local authorities | GOV.WALES