MORE than £6.5 million has been paid as an energy rebate to Island council tax payers so far — with efforts to ensure more payments are being made to those eligible "as swiftly as possible", say the Isle of Wight Council. 

The government is providing a £150 rebate to council taxpayers in bands A-D (and E if in receipt of disabled persons reduction) to help with rising energy costs.

This is a one-off payment and will not have to be repaid.

The council has made a total of 43,413 payments so far, which equates to more than £6.5 million.

Of these, 34,772 have been to those who pay by direct debit — 93 per cent of direct debit account holders and 8,641 to cash payers.

The letters sent out to people who pay by cash contain a unique code, which enables the resident to complete a short application online so payment can be made.

The council will ask cash payers to supply them with a copy of a bank statement to confirm account details. It does not need to show any transactions.

The local authority is asking for this evidence because the government requires them to undertake fraud checks to ensure payments are made to the correct person.

On some accounts, the names do not exactly match those of the party liable for council tax, so these need to be manually verified with bank statement evidence.

If you pay by cash, please allow a couple of weeks for the rebate to arrive.

If you receive such a letter, you can either email a copy of your bank statement to council.tax@iow.gov.uk, drop it into a council help centre, or send it by post to: Revenues Services, PO Box 238, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 9FP.

If you have received this letter and have not yet made an application, please visit: https://www.iow.gov.uk/Residents/Benefits-Council-Tax-and-Business-Rates/Council-Tax-Services/Council-Tax/Energy-rebate 

Earlier this week, the Isle of Wight Council launched a new discretionary scheme to assist those not eligible for an energy rebate under the main scheme.

Eligible households in council tax bands E to H can apply for a discretionary payment of £150, to help with rising energy prices as part of the scheme.

Full details, including details on how to apply, can also be found here: www.iow.gov.uk/Residents/Benefits-Council-Tax-and-Business-Rates/Council-Tax-Services/Council-Tax/Energy-rebate