{"id":25508,"date":"2022-04-29T23:38:04","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T23:38:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/04\/29\/chancellor-breaks-pledge-on-energy-bills\/"},"modified":"2022-04-29T23:38:04","modified_gmt":"2022-04-29T23:38:04","slug":"chancellor-breaks-pledge-on-energy-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2022\/04\/29\/chancellor-breaks-pledge-on-energy-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Chancellor breaks pledge on energy bills"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Chancellor’s promise that councils in England would make a \u00a3150 payment for domestic energy bills “in April” has been broken in some areas.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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While some have paid, Radio 4’s Money Box has noted many have not, and the guidance has been changed to “from April”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The payment deadline applicable to apartments in council tax brackets AD is September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The government said councils are expected to start making payments as soon as possible from April.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Many local authorities have already started paying the rebate and we expect the rest to start making payments shortly,” the BBC’s Leveling Up department said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“The \u00a3150 council tax refund will help millions of people cope with rising living costs and we’ve given communities an extra \u00a3144m to support any household in need, regardless of the council’s tax bracket.” , added her.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The initiating Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities did not answer a direct question as to why the guidance was changed or when that change occurred.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Local Government Association, which represents the councils, says they are working hard to process the payment and the necessary fraud checks and new software have caused delays.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Households can check their local government website for more information.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Wales and Scotland, councils decide how to pay out this money. In both countries, the regulation also extends to people in municipal tax brackets E to H if they receive a municipal tax reduction due to low income.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Scotland, local councils have been told they can give the \u00a3150 as a direct rebate on their council tax – and many have done so.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There is no council tax in Northern Ireland but the executive branch there has received money to make the payments but that is being held up by political uncertainty.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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  • How high could my utility bills get?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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    Energy bills are currently at record highs, with a typical household likely to have to pay around \u00a3700 extra a year since prices went up on April 1st.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Prices rose by an average of 54% after regulator Ofgem raised the price cap that limits how much energy companies can charge household customers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Even then, many households, such as shared households or shared households, are not protected by the upper price limit and must expect even higher price increases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    It’s impossible to say exactly how many households received the \u00a3150 tax refund.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    However, Money Box has noted that many councils have not yet started paying the thousands of people in their areas who are entitled to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    It has also found that in many areas, where even those who are first in line to pay their council tax by direct debit, do not receive payment until May or even June.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Where they don’t pay by direct debit, about a third of households, they may have to wait until September.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    The millions of billpayers who don’t use direct debit are being told to wait until their councils contact them to arrange payment, but this process is already expected to drag out the process even longer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    You can hear more of Curtis Ting’s interview on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box podcast by clicking on it <\/i>here.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Follow <\/i>money box<\/a> and <\/i>Dan<\/a> on twitter<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n