Decision details

On 3 February 2022 as part of its support for rising fuel prices the Government announced a £150 Energy Rebate Payment for most households in Council Tax Bands A to D. The Government also announced a Discretionary Energy Rebate Scheme of up to £150.

Each Council must determine its own Discretionary Energy Rebate Scheme within some national guidelines. Guildford Borough Council has been allocated £235,500. This will provide 1,570 payments of £150.00. The fund will not be topped up. All payments must be made by 30 November 2022. Any remaining funds must be repaid to the government.

The full scheme will be published online and contains information on applications and fraud and error.

The key decision within the scheme concerns distribution of the funds.

Strand 1: £150 to Council Tax payers in properties banded E, F, G or H, meeting at least one of the following criteria on 1 April 2022.
•In receipt of Local Council Tax Support
•In receipt of a disabled band reduction (NB band E is in the main scheme)
•With either a carers or severely mentally impaired disregard
•With a severely mentally impaired exemption
•In receipt of housing benefit for a working age taxpayer.

Strand 2: Up to £150 to Council Tax payers in properties banded E, F, G or H on 1 April 2022, meeting at least one of the following criteria during the period 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022. A full application to be made by 31 July 2022.

The Council Tax payer or partner is in receipt of any of the following benefits:
•Universal Credit
•Housing Benefit
•Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance
•Income-related Employment Support Allowance
•Income Support
•Pension Credit
•Child Tax Credit
•Working Tax Credit
•Disability Living Allowance Care Element, any rate
•Disability Living Allowance Mobility Element, any rate
•Personal Independence Payment Daily Living Component, any rate
•Personal Independence Payment Mobility Component, any rate
•Attendance Allowance
•New Style Employment Support Allowance
•War Pension
•Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
•Industrial Injuries Benefit.
•Carers Allowance

Strand 3: any funds remain following the allocation of Strand 2 payments, discretionary hardship energy payments will be considered from other residents. Further details will be published on the website in August 2022.

The government expects Billing Authorities to create a local discretionary energy rebate scheme to help those falling outside the mandatory scheme. We have been allocated some initial administration funds for both schemes, with no certainty of getting more.

In making the decision we have considered the cost of administration.

Strand 1 is based on information available to us, which means we can minimise the administration. It targets funds at residents in higher bands on low incomes or with a disability within the household which may mean a higher consumption of energy.

We are aware that Strand 1 excludes residents on DWP benefits such as universal credit. We do not hold this information and do not know how many people may apply. To control this element Strand 2 has a closing date. Awards will be up to £150, as the fund will be divided by the successful applicants and capped at £150. We cannot avoid the need to assess these applications to ensure that public funds get to those who need them. Until we see how many applications we get we will not know how much the administration will cost.

In the event that funds remain after Strand 2 we will run a third Strand.

Whilst not adopting the scheme is in theory an option, the expectation of both the government and residents is that we will provide the rebate.
The finite funds, timescale for delivery and administrative overheads limit the options available. Anything that opens applications up to a wider pool – for example anyone facing financial difficulty including those not on benefits – will result in a scheme that cannot be administered within these constraints.