Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee, has fired off the latest correspondence from the LUHC Committee to Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, seeking clarification about the operation of the Chancellor’s announced policy that millions of households will receive a council tax rebate.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has been copied into the correspondence.
The correspondence (29th March) from Clive Betts, LUHC Chair, is the latest in a series of letters from the LUHC Committee to press the Government on details of how the council tax rebate will be administered, the process for people to receive the £150 rebate, and the guidance and communications to councils who have been made responsible by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for delivering the rebate.
The correspondence also notes the series of recent or current Government examples of one-off grants paid to councils which attempt to assist households and individuals facing hardship and questions whether this, in effect, are moves to create, “a parallel, discretionary, locally-operated welfare benefit system outside the conventional one”.
Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee, said: “There are suggestions the Chancellor is looking again at a council tax rebate later this year to help households with increasing energy bills. The reality is the Chancellor’s first effort at support through a council tax rebate is already proving to be complex and there are a variety of issues which risk people being unable to access this help quickly and smoothly.
“The Government needs to get a grip on the operation of the council tax rebate and give clear guidance to councils so that this rebate is delivered to households reliably and effectively. If the Chancellor is minded to bring forward additional support to households through the council tax system later in the year then it is even more crucial that every effort is made to create a process that works now.”
The rebates are among measures announced by the Government with the aim of helping households with energy costs. The one-off payment of £150 will be paid by local authorities to people living in properties in council tax bands A to D.
