Decision details

On 28 June 2022 Guildford Borough Council adopted a Discretionary Energy Rebate Scheme. The scheme set a deadline for Strand Two applications by 31 July 2022.

It has taken longer than anticipated to put all the administrative arrangements in place. The application date is therefore being extended to 5pm on 12 August 2022.

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.

We need to distribute funds as quickly as possible, however we also need to allow residents a reasonable amount of time to apply. Only once the scheme is launched will we have an indication of how many people will apply.

Leaving the date as 31 July would have allowed around 10 days for applications. This was considered far too short.
Extending the application window beyond 12 August could leave us with insufficient time to assess all the applications received.