Energy rebate: Nearly 140,000 Welsh households await £150

Council leader advises eligible householders yet to receive or claim their rebate to contact their local authority

Some councils have had to send out several letters offering a £150 rebate to help with energy costs as eligible householders may have thought it was a scam, a council leader has said.

Nearly 140,000 eligible households were still waiting to receive the payment on 1 July in Wales, a BBC Freedom Of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

Andrew Morgan said councils didn't hold bank details of some householders.

But 97% who pay council tax by direct debit in England and Wales have had it.

The payment is available to homes in council tax bands A to D or up to E if a householder has a disability.

Councils were expected to start paying the rebates from April, but have until September to do so.

Data was not available for Welsh council areas for Anglesey, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire and Pembrokeshire

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, Rhondda Cynon Taf leader Mr Morgan said across Wales hundreds of thousands of letters had to be sent out inviting people to apply online or call to register because local authorities did not hold bank details of householders which did not pay their council tax by direct debit.

"In some cases people have thought maybe that these letters are scams," said Mr Morgan who is also the leader of the Welsh Local Government Association, which represents Wales' 22 local authorities.

"Within my own authority we have had to write to people three times who haven't yet applied.

"I'm pleased to say that nearly everybody in Rhondda Cynon Taf now has been paid.

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"But it does take time, unfortunately, when we don't have their bank details."

He said "things have moved on quite significantly" as the figures related to up to eight weeks ago.

But he advised eligible households yet to receive or claim their rebate to contact their local authority.

The Welsh government said councils were "working hard to deliver" £152m from its Cost of Living Support Scheme.

Payments of £150 were being made to all households in properties in council tax bands A to D and to "all households who receive support through our national Council Tax Reduction Scheme, regardless of their council tax band".

A UK government spokesperson said more than £2bn had been paid out in a "matter of months" and £28m had been set aside to help councils deliver the payments.