First 30,000 residents get £150 energy rebate

Hull’s Guildhall, home of Hull City Council. Picture by Tom Arran Commercial Photography

By Simon Bristow

A total of 30,000 Hull residents will today receive a £150 energy rebate as the city council begins processing payments, the local authority said.

They are among the first who pay council tax by direct debit to have the money transferred into their bank accounts, with the remaining payments to direct debit payers continuing during April and May, after council tax direct debits have been taken.

The council has also had more than 20,000 paper forms returned with bank details completed to enable payments to be made.

Processing these forms has started but “will take some time” as the information provided has to be checked and entered onto the payment system, the council said.

Payments from these forms will start in May.

The online form enabling those who do not pay by direct debit to provide bank details is available here.

David Bell, Hull City Council’s director of finance, said: “We have worked swiftly to process these payments as quickly as possible, and we are one of the first local authorities to be processing payments to residents.

“Council staff are very busy processing applications, and we ask that residents don’t contact the council unless absolutely necessary, as payment dates for individual applications cannot be given.”

Households in council tax bands A-D will receive the one-off cash payment to help with the increased cost of living. 

Empty homes or second homes are not eligible for the rebate.

The council is also advising residents that it will not call to take bank details over the telephone to help prevent scamming.

The payments are intended to help offset the huge rise in gas and electricity costs.