A presentation will be shared with the committee on this item.
Minutes:
C Baker presented an overview of the rebate as part of the government’s support for households, and that Dacorum will be making approximately 43k payments of £150 to residents. The majority of payments will be made via direct debit details held for council tax, and around 28k payments have been made automatically following additional cross checks. In instances where automatic payments could not be made, letters have been sent to direct people to the website, or they can call to be guided through the process over the phone. Further anti-fraud checks then need to be made before making payments, and if these checks can’t be completed then the amount will instead be applied to the person’s council tax account.
C Baker advised that around £6.75m of payments would be made overall, of which £5.1m has been paid out today, and around 4k council tax credits are expected to be applied by the end of the week. Around 5k people are yet to respond to their letter, and if no response is received within the next 3 weeks, then a credit will be applied to their council tax account.
Cllr Tindall commented on the vulnerable section of society and asked if the 5k yet to respond are council tenants. C Baker advised housing officers and tenant support are already assisting tenants with this and anyone receiving the rebate as a credit on their council tax bill will receive a new bill detailing this.
Cllr Tindall noted examples in the private rental sector where a portion of council tax is added to rents and therefore the landlord is taking the rebate. C Baker responded that it was a possibility this had happened and that some controls in place require a link between the bank account and the person liable for council tax help mitigate against this.
Cllr Tindall asked that the team working on this be thanked for their work. Cllr Douris echoed this, adding that the council and its officers have gone above and beyond to get funds due to people as quickly as possible.
Cllr Freedman asked why multiple payment dates were set up. C Baker agreed that it would be beneficial to release the payments on one date, though the staggered payments were to ensure payments could be made as soon as possible to those who were eligible. It was also noted that payments were due to differing direct debit payment dates.
Cllr Symington queried how rebates had been internally costed. C Baker confirmed the focus had been on making payments, though they will look at the cost of resourcing the service. C Baker added that the main cost would likely be officer time and diverting work away from other services.
Cllr Adeleke asked how much pressure staff are experiencing having been taken away from their core functions. Cllr Adeleke then asked about anti-fraud checks and how much time the team has to spend on this. C Baker advised that it had been the toughest individual process he had undertaken and had therefore put the team under more pressure, with more challenges ahead. On the anti-fraud checks, C Baker explained that the government has mandated the process and that he had concerns that the process was preventing some eligible people from receiving the rebate directly.
Cllr Chapman asked when letters were sent out and how long residents have to respond. C Baker clarified that the letters were sent around 5-6 weeks ago. Residents were told to expect payments within 3 weeks and timeline information is available on the website.
Cllr Peter asked why payments were made so early and why they weren’t delayed until late autumn. Cllr Douris noted that this was not the decision of the council and timelines were set out by central government.
Cllr Guest asked if funding was coming from the government. It was confirmed that the payments and administrative costs come from government.
Cllr Douris thanked C Baker and the team for their work.