Almost 20,000 Lancaster & Morecambe residents will get £150 council tax rebate in vouchers

To date Lancaster City Council has made government payments of £150 to help with rising energy costs to more than 34,000 eligible households that pay their Council Tax by direct debit.

This leaves around 19,500 households that do not pay by direct debit or whose bank details do not match those on their Council Tax bill.

Rather than run a potentially lengthy and complicated application process, the council has decided to issue these remaining households with vouchers which can be cashed in at their local Post Office branch.

The council was concerned that requiring an online claim would disadvantage large numbers of residents who are not able to easily access online services.

By issuing Post Office vouchers, the council says it is ensuring the payments get to everyone as quickly as possible.

The vouchers will be posted to all eligible households in bands A-D that have not yet received their rebate and addressed to the person who is liable for Council Tax. The letter will contain instructions on how they can be redeemed.

The process of issuing the vouchers should start the week beginning June 6 and will be staggered over a number of weeks so that Post Office branches can cope with demand.

People are asked to refrain from contacting the council about their individual payments for the time being so staff can concentrate on processing payments.

Coun Anne Whitehead, cabinet member with responsibility for finance and resources, said: “We had initially planned to run an online application process for those people who don’t pay by direct debit but the Post Office voucher scheme will get these payments to households much quicker.

“We hope this process is a lot simpler and ensures that these payments get to the people who need them as quickly as possible. Just as a reminder, this is a one-off payment and residents do not need to pay it back.

“Any household who has not yet received their payment will receive a letter from the council with instructions on how to redeem the voucher. Residents can take that letter to any Post Office branch and receive the £150 cash straight away.”