£150 Government Council Tax Rebate Update.

And this isn't a scam, the £150 Council Tax Rebate to help with the rising cost of energy bills that the Government announced earlier in the year (blog), well you have until the end of the month to claim it, if you haven't already received it (website). This is for people who live in properties that are valued in council tax bands A-D.

A reminder that people who pay their council tax by direct debit should already have received their rebates via BACS direct into their bank account. If you haven't received it yet, or, if you do not pay by direct debit and haven't yet made a claim, please go to the website, from where you can make an application.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday the 31st August 2022, "anyone who has not applied before Wednesday 31 August will not be able to apply."

The website gives details of what to do and is self-explanatory, indeed, it provides all the information required, and the means to apply. 

Get going if you've not already applied, and good luck to you! 👍

Council Tax Increases Again for 2022/23

It doesn't look great for us this year, financially, with our Council Tax Bill 2022/23 increasing in Hastings by 4.07%, made up of an increase in the Hastings Borough Council of just 1.99%, increased to 4.07% because of the Police, Fire Authority and East Sussex County Council Adult Social Care precepts added to the total council tax.

Council Tax Bills should be sent out to us this week, and all households in Bands A to D will receive a £150 Council Tax Rebate in our bank accounts in May if Council Tax is paid for by Direct Debit; if you don't pay by Direct Debit go to this council website page for further information.

The trouble for many will be that, when increases in the State Pension rate, for example, were declared in October, the inflation rate was at 3.1%, thus pensions will increase by that amount in April (Government website), whereas the inflation rate is quickly rising above the 5.4% it had already increased to by January, and the Bank of England (website) expects it to rise to 7.25% by April!

So, if taking account of the astronomical increases expected in energy costs following ofgem's price cap increase for next year (website) and with world gas and oil prices increasing, notably following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions on Russia (yahoo news), food prices and energy costs will go through the roof, and inflation is likely to increase even further!

Of course, the £150 Council Tax Rebate is a Government scheme to help us with increasing energy costs, together with a £200 loan we will be given this Autumn via the energy company we use; this is called a "discount" by the Government (website), but is in fact not a "discount" as we have to pay it back over the next 5 years, presumably added to future energy bills.

So, things do not look so great for us financially, start economising folks!