Council tax: 80% of homes in England to receive £150 rebate as energy bills soar | Personal Finance | Finance
Every homeowner with a property graded in bands A to D is eligible for the rebate. This will not need to be re-paid.
The measure was announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday, and is intended to help low-income individuals with soaring energy bills.
It comes as energy regulator Ofgem announced a rise in its price cap to just under £2,000.
The Chancellor further announced that local authorities will be given access to a discretionary fund of approximately £150million.
This will be to help lower-income households living in higher council tax properties.
Homes in bands A to D that are exempt from council tax and therefore ineligible for the rebate will also benefit from the fund.
In addition, the Government will go ahead with existing proposals to expand eligibility for the Warm Home Discount.
This will increase the number of people eligible for the payment by one third, which is around 780,000 families.
There will also be a £10 uplift in Warm Home Discounts so the £140 yearly payment will increase to £150 next winter.
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This follows a consultation by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to reform the Warm Home Discount policy so more people will benefit.
Eligible claimants can apply for the discount via their energy supplier.
Overall, the Government’s £9.1billion Energy Bills Rebate is ultimately aimed at supporting lower-income families with rising energy prices.
As such, all domestic electricity customers will get £200 off their energy bills from October this year.
Currently, a £700-a-year rise in the average household’s energy bills is forecasted this year.
This is due to a fourfold increase in the global wholesale price of gas.
In addition, the Treasury will make £565million available to share between the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
However, Northern Ireland will get an extra £150million to spend on cutting energy bills.
Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said that under Labour’s plan there would be £400 in targeted support for the poorest homes, as well as £200 in general support for most households.
The Energy Bills Rebate will provide around 28 million households with an upfront discount on their bills worth £200.
Energy suppliers will apply the discount to domestic electricity with the Government meeting the costs.
The discount will then be automatically recovered from people’s bills in equal £40 instalments over the next five years.
This will begin from 2023, when global wholesale gas prices are expected to come down.
