In an incredibly welcome step, the government has announced a £150 council tax rebate for households which are in council tax bands A-D from April and will not need to be repaid. This will benefit around 80 per cent of all homes in England and is aimed at lower-income families. On top of this rebate, the government has given councils, including Elmbridge an extra £144 million to use how they see best to provide support vulnerable people and those on low incomes that do not pay council tax, or that pay council tax for properties in Bands E-H.
Here in Elmbridge, this translates into £150 in April for over 25,000 households according to the council's forecasts. This is especially welcome as the Liberal Democrats who run the council just increased our council tax by the maximum possible.
This is in addition to £12 billion in government support to help with the cost of living this year:
- National Living Wage increased to £9.50 an hour, a boost of £1,000 per year
- Fuel Duty frozen for the 12th year in a row, saving motorists £1,900 since 2010
- Free Childcare doubled to up to 30 hours, worth £5,000 per child every year
- TV Licence Fee frozen at £159 for two years
- Winter Fuel Payments now worth £2 billion, helping 11.4 million pensioners
- Cold Weather Payments providing £25 extra a week for 4 million people
- Universal Credit taper rate reduced and putting on average £1,000 extra in pockets of 2 million families
To make sure you get your £150 rebate, contact Elmbridge Council here: www.elmbridge.gov.uk/council-tax/council-tax-rebate