By Matt Jarram, Local Democracy Reporter
Nottingham City Council needs to ensure residents receive a slice of more than £20m of government funding to help them with the rise in energy costs.
If the Labour-run authority fails to distribute the cash, then the Government will take back any of the money that has not been allocated.
Pensioners, students, and working age residents on council tax support are set to benefit from more cash to help them with the rise in energy bills.
Under a delegated decision on July 29, which means it took place outside of a council meeting, the council accepted and approved the distribution of the Government’s £20.65m.
This is for both the non-discretionary (£19.8 million) and discretionary (£0.85 million) Council Tax energy rebate schemes.
It also accepted and approved the use of Government funding to help cover the council’s cost of administering and distributing the funding.
In February, the Government wrote to local authorities to inform them of the introduction of an Energy Rebate Scheme (ERS) that would provide a one-off payment of £150 to qualifying households, using the Council Tax data.
Since then, the council says it has taken some time for the Government to release details of the scheme and required infrastructure/technologies to be used during the roll-out of the funding.
On top of this, the council says it had to develop systems internally to enable the safe and secure distribution of the funding.
The ERS has two elements, a non-discretionary and a discretionary pay-out.
The criteria for the distribution of nondiscretionary funding has been set out by the Government. However, it has not set any criteria for the discretionary funding.
Local Authorities are required to develop a discretionary scheme to deal with households that haven’t qualified for a payment under the non-discretionary scheme.
The council says it has consulted with other local authorities and created a policy for the allocation of the discretionary funding.
The report states: “The Government have set a tight timeframe for councils to distribute this funding and any funding not distributed within this timeframe will be withdrawn/recovered by the Government.
“Nottingham City Council has been allocated a total amount of £20.9m to be distributed to households within the city’s administrative area.
“The funding is split between non-discretionary funding which can only be allocated in accordance with the Government guidelines, and discretionary funding which can be allocated in accordance with criteria developed by the council for those in need.”
Officers have identified groups which they believe would most benefit from funding from the discretionary scheme.
- Households in bands E – H in receipt of Council Tax reduction. This group is not included in the non-discretionary scheme due to the banding of their property, but being eligible for Council Tax reduction means they require and receive help paying their bills
- Households in bands E – H in receipt of disability relief. This group is not included in the non-discretionary scheme due to the banding of their property, but being eligible for disability relief means they require and receive help paying their bills
- Households in bands E – H in receipt of Carers Discount. This group is not included in the non-discretionary scheme due to the banding of their property, but being eligible for Carers Discount means they require and receive help paying their bills
- Properties with exemptions due to all residents being under 18 or only occupied by severely mentally impaired in Band E – H. This group is not included in the non-discretionary scheme due to the banding of their property, but the occupants are eligible for other support
- Houses in Multiple Occupation where the residents pay their energy bills but not their Council Tax. This group would not automatically be eligible because their landlord pays their Council Tax, but as the residents pay their energy bills, and this amount is intended to support with energy costs, these households would benefit from receiving this funding
- Top-up amount for care leavers for whom Nottingham City Council retains corporate parenting responsibility (this is until they are 25). This group has been identified for a top-up amount due to the council’s ongoing corporate parenting responsibility and the fact this additional funding would make a big difference to the cohort. All care leavers are exempt from paying Council Tax until they are age 20 (this is a local decision). All pay energy bills so would benefit from this additional amount.
- Top-up discretionary amount for pensioners on Council Tax support in properties in bands A – D. This group has been identified for a top-up amount due to their limited budgets, additionally there is an increased chance of them being home more frequently or being unable to keep active to keep warm due to mobility issues
- Top-up discretionary amount for pensioners on Council Tax support in properties in bands E – H. This group has been identified for a top-up amount due to their limited budgets, additionally there is an increased chance of them being home more frequently or being unable to keep active to keep warm due to mobility issues
- Top-up discretionary amount for working age households on Council Tax Support. This group has been identified for a top-up amount due to their limited budgets, to provide extra support.
