Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of awarding eligible households in receipt of Local Council Tax Support, who do not pay council tax via direct debit, their £150 energy rebate payments automatically.

Councils cannot make automatic payments where they do not hold bank details for households. This is particularly likely to be the case where households receive council tax support and may have no little or no council tax liability. Eligible households that are in receipt of council tax support will however be able to receive payments in the same way as other eligible households. Our FAQs include information on flexible payment options for households in different circumstances, which balance administrative ease and accessibility with the need to manage fraud risk.