Swansea Labour Council first in Wales to roll out Council Tax rebate
Swansea Labour Council the first in Wales to roll out £150 Council Tax rebates to residents.
The cost of living rebate package could be worth up to £300 for some households and will see £12m in support provided to residents in Swansea
The payment will be provided to householders in the council tax property bands A-D. This covers the vast majority of households in Swansea, plus households in any council tax band who are in receipt of CTRS (Council Tax Reduction Scheme).
Swansea Council’s Labour cabinet will also be asked to agree a discretionary scheme to increase the help above the £150 to a maximum of £300 for some households
This will mean the following being available to households
Band A property £178 rebate (£150 plus £28 local uplift)
Band B property £178 rebate (£150 plus £28 local uplift)
Band C property £150 rebate
Band D property £150 rebate
Any property in any band in receipt of CTRS (council tax reduction scheme) £150 rebate.
Automatic payments - What happens?
£150 payments will be rolled out automatically from today to around 45,000 households in the Swansea area that the council hold bank account details for. This will see around £6.8m hitting residents bank accounts early next week.
Discretionary payments listed below will follow once the discretionary scheme has been agreed
Non automated payments - what happens?
For those households where the council does not hold bank details, the online and call line registration for the rebate will open at 3pm today (Friday 8th April )
Extra discretionary local help from Swansea Labour Council
On top of the main £150 Council Tax rebate listed above there will be additional discretionary help available covering a number of different groups - subject to approval by Swansea Cabinet.
It is proposed extra local help be extend to the following vulnerable groups:
£150 will be paid to recipients of Council Tax exemptions awarded in respect of:
Care Leavers
People with a Severe Mental Impairment (SMI)
Occupants of certain self-contained annexes
Residents who are the main homeowner and under 18 years of age
Care home residents
People resident elsewhere as they are receiving care
People resident elsewhere as they are providing care
Other categories for which a discretion local payment of £150 will be made:
Households occupying domestic dwellings in bands F to I for which a disability adaptation reduction has been granted
Help for Council tenants
Tenants of Swansea Council not in receipt of support from Housing Benefit (HB) or Universal Credit (UC) – in addition to any main scheme payment they are entitled to. This means that for those council tenants who pay their rent themselves, they will get £150 which will fully cover the 3.1% rent increase.
Here for Swansea
Just as we were here to help residents, families and communities throughout the pandemic, we are doing what we can to help during the cost of living crisis. We are providing significant extra help over and above the Welsh Government scheme so we can help over 90% of households in Swansea.
For More information and the frequently asked questions can be found here - www.swansea.gov.uk/costoflivingpayment
