£150 Energy Rebate & Household Support Fund in England
Case reference FOI2022/00900
Published 28 July 2022
Request
Q1. How many households in your Local Authority area are eligible for the £150 council tax rebate announced by DLUHC in March 2022? For the avoidance of doubt, I am referring to households eligible for the scheme as per the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-council-tax-rebate-2022-23-billing-authority-guidance/support-for-energy-bills-the-council-tax-rebate-2022-23-billing-authority-guidance
Q1a. Of these households, how many pay council tax by Direct Debit, and how many by other means? (e.g. cash / phone / cheque payments)
Q1b. For households eligible for the £150 council tax rebate that pay for council tax by Direct Debit, how many have now received their £150 payment by July 1st 2022 and how was their payment processed? (i.e. transfer via BACS, postal cheque etc.)
Q1c. For households eligible for the £150 council tax rebate that do not pay for council tax by Direct Debit, how many have received their £150 payment by July 1st 2022 and how was their payment processed? (i.e. transfer via BACS, postal cheque etc.)
Please note that the time period for all of information in Q2, parts a, b, c, d & e are for October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022.
Q2. Is your council one of the 152 authorities responsible for distributing the Household Support Fund?
And if so, could you please tell me how many applications has your Local Authority received for Household Support Fund Payments between October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022?
Please can you provide this information on a month-by-month basis? For the avoidance of doubt, I am referring to households eligible for the scheme as per the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/household-support-fund-guidance-for-local-councils/household-support-fund-final-guidance-for-county-councils-and-unitary-authorities-in-england
Q2a. Of the applications made for the Household Support Fund payments between October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022, what percentage of applications have been successful?
Q2b. For households that have received the Household Support Fund payments between October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022, how was their payment processed? (i.e. transfer via BACS, postal cheque etc.)
Q2c. A breakdown of number of awards made by type of household (i.e. with children, pensioners)
Q2d. A breakdown of number of awards made by purpose (i.e. energy and water, food, housing costs, other essentials)
Q2e. What steps has your Local Authority undertaken to ensure that Household Support Fund payments are being used for their defined purposes?
Response
Q1. How many households in your Local Authority area are eligible for the £150 council tax rebate announced by DLUHC in March 2022? For the avoidance of doubt, I am referring to households eligible for the scheme as per the following link:
A. Approximately 61,255, but this figure fluctuates due to change in circumstances.
Q1a. Of these households, how many pay council tax by Direct Debit, and how many by other means? (e.g. cash / phone / cheque payments)
A. At 01.04.22:
Direct Debit - 39,812
Other - 21,443
Please note that figures fluctuate due to changes in method of payment.
Q1b. For households eligible for the £150 council tax rebate that pay for council tax by Direct Debit, how many have now received their £150 payment by July 1st 2022 and how was their payment processed? (i.e. transfer via BACS, postal cheque etc.)
A. 39,096 direct into bank account.
Q1c. For households eligible for the £150 council tax rebate that do not pay for council tax by Direct Debit, how many have received their £150 payment by July 1st 2022 and how was their payment processed? (i.e. transfer via BACS, postal cheque etc.)
A. 749: 474 into bank accounts, 143 via Post office Voucher, 132 credited to Council Tax account.
Please note that the time period for all of information in Q2, parts a, b, c, d & e are for October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022.
Q2. Is your council one of the 152 authorities responsible for distributing the Household Support Fund?
A. For the period 6/10/21-31/3/22 - Yes
For the period 1/4/22 onwards - Yes
And if so, could you please tell me how many applications has your Local Authority received for Household Support Fund Payments between October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022? Please can you provide this information on a month-by-month basis?
For the avoidance of doubt, I am referring to households eligible for the scheme as per the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/household-support-fund-guidance-for-local-councils/household-support-fund-final-guidance-for-county-councils-and-unitary-authorities-in-england
A. For the period 6/10/21-31/3/22: 1,469 applications were received for grants of £60 for applicants in receipt of universal credit below the Free School Meal and/or Free Prescription thresholds. Please find a monthly breakdown below:
December 2021= 627
January 2022 = 528
February 2022 = 267
March 2022 = 47
For the period 1/4/22 onwards please see below and the following:
Guidance from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) for Household Support Fund 2022 states "authorities have the ability to deliver the scheme through a variety of routes including providing vouchers to households, making direct provision of food or goods, or issuing grants to third parties".
In Herefordshire we are doing the following in compliance with the guidance which also states at least one third of the funding must go on vulnerable households with children and at least one third of the funding is for pensioners:
Funding £15 food vouchers for each full week of the school holidays during the period of the grant for children entitled to free school meals; a direct award to be made to low income pensioner households (no application required as identified through DWP / Council data), plus further provision primarily through third party organisations to provide support for all types of vulnerable households across all the types of support identified (eg. help with food and energy bills and other households essentials) across the county.
Q2a. Of the applications made for the Household Support Fund payments between October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022, what percentage of applications have been successful?
A. For the period 6/10/21-31/3/22, 78% of applications for grants of £60 were paid to applicants in receipt of universal credit below the Free School Meal and/or Free Prescription thresholds
For the period 1/4/22 onwards - n/a
Q2b. For households that have received the Household Support Fund payments between October 6th 2021 to July 1st 2022, how was their payment processed? (i.e. transfer via BACS, postal cheque etc.)
A. For the period 6/10/21-31/3/22, grants were paid by BACS to applicants in receipt of universal credit below the Free School Meal and/or Free Prescription thresholds. Supermarket vouchers were issued to families in receipt of free school meals to support households with meals during October half term, Christmas break, February half term and Easter break.
For the period 1/4/22 onwards, by food vouchers through schools in May 2022.
Q2c. A breakdown of number of awards made by type of household (i.e. with children, pensioners)
A. For the period 6/10/21-31/3/22, 17,706 awards to households with children and 327 awards to households without children.
For the period 1/4/22 onwards, to 4,601 children
Q2d. A breakdown of number of awards made by purpose (i.e. energy and water, food, housing costs, other essentials)
A. For the period 6/10/21-31/3/22, 16,888 awarded for food and 1,145 for wider essentials. For the period 1/4/22 onwards, 100% awarded for food.
Q2e. What steps has your Local Authority undertaken to ensure that Household Support Fund payments are being used for their defined purposes?
A. For the period 6/10/21-31/3/22 the Household Support Fund payments have been paid to low income households - £60 grants were paid to applicants in receipt of universal credit below the Free School Meal and/or Free Prescription thresholds and supermarket vouchers were issued to families in receipt of free school meals.
For the period 1/4/22 onwards, vouchers were provided to children entitled to free school meals who are therefore in low income households.
Documents
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