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Cymraeg

Discretionary support scheme

The Discretionary Support Scheme is aimed at helping all eligible households identified as in most need of financial support during the cost-of-living-crisis.

The scheme, which is funded by Welsh Government is available to the following groups of people and individuals:

 

Eligibility

A household will qualify for a £150 discretionary support payment if on 1 August 2022:
  • They were liable for council tax on a property on the 1 August 2022
  • Living in the property as their main or primary residence on the 1 August 2022, and
  • Responsible for paying the associated utility and other regularly incurred bills for the property on the 1 August 2022

And

  • They were in receipt of a Council Tax Disabled Band Reduction and   have not already received a cost-of-living payment under the main  

Or

  • They were in receipt of an exemption from Council Tax on 1 August 2022 for one of the following classes:-
  • A severe mental impairment (Class U)
  • Providing care – (Class J)
  • Receiving care – (Class I)
  • A care leaver – Class X)
  • Aged under 18 years old, and live alone – (Class S)
  • A full-time student – (Class N)

Or

  • They or their family were residing in temporary accommodation
  • Liable for council tax on a property on the 1 August 2022
  • Not in receipt of an exemption for that property on the 1 August 2022
  • Living in the property as their main or primary residence on the 1 August 2022, and
  • Responsible for paying the associated utility and other regularly incurred bills for the property on the 1 August 2022
  • Not in receipt of Council Tax Reduction as of 1 August 2022

  • You are an individual living in temporary accommodation

A £50 voucher will also be provided to each individual child in receipt of free school meals.

 

Payments

Residents who currently pay their council tax by direct debit will receive the payments automatically.

Those who do not pay by direct debit will receive a letter or email with an access code with instructions on how to register for the payment.

Please do not contact us regarding this as it could lead to a delay in the processing of your payment.

 

FAQs

When will this scheme start?

If Cabinet approves the scheme, this scheme will operate from 1st October 2022

The scheme is funded wholly by Welsh Government (WG). WG has allocated £1,236,137 for this scheme.

Final payments have to be made prior to  the 31st March 2023

Eligibility for the Scheme is detailed in the schedule below.

Details of the Discretionary Cost of Living Scheme

The level of payment does vary across the different categories. Details are shown on the attached schedule

Details of the Discretionary Cost of Living Scheme

For those in council tax bands E and F:

If you currently pay your council tax by Direct Debit, your payment will be made after the 1 October, there is no need for you to apply for this money

If you don’t pay your council tax by Direct Debit, we will send you an email or letter to request your bank account details to enable us to make a payment. Registering your details must be done online and details of how to do this will be on the letter you receive

For Free School Meals (FSM) related payments:

If you have received vouchers for FSM over the summer, we will use the same method to make the payments for FSM. The vouchers will be sent to you automatically – you will not need to apply for this money.

If you are in temporary accommodation:

The council’s housing team will contact you to request your bank details to enable us to make the payment.

Yes, you will still receive the additional £50 vouchers for children entitled to FSM as at the eligibility date of 1 August 2022.

No - the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that payments made under Local Welfare Provision are disregarded in the assessment of Income Support, Income Based JSA and Income Related ESA so these will not be affected.  Universal Credit claimants will not see their entitlement change as a result of receiving this payment.

The details for how this funding will be utilised have not been finalised. The amount available will depend on take up of the funding in the three main groups of the scheme. Once the details are confirmed they will be promoted accordingly.

If you have a trusted family member or friend who can assist you, please show them your letter and ask them to assist you.

If you still require assistance:

  • call the council on 01656 643643 and someone can assist you in entering the details required

support can be provided via your local library – please take your letter with you as it contains important information that will be needed to complete your registration

We will start to make the automatic payments from the 1 October 2022.

If we need to request information from you in order to make a payment, the letters/emails will be sent to you during October

If you are unable to find an answer to your query on our website, you should either:

  • ring 01656 643643, or
  • email: col@bridgend.gov.uk

If you wish to raise an appeal, you can do so by contacting the Chief Officer – Finance, Performance and Change on COLappeals@bridgend.gov.uk

The decision of the Chief Officer is final.

The scheme will not affect any of the other benefits eligible households currently receive or current council tax payments being made.

Payments are expected to be made from the 1 October 2022, and scheme is expected to run until 31 March 2023.

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