Thousands of council taxpayers in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse will soon receive a £150 council tax 'rebate' to help with rising energy bills.

The government has announced that most households in council tax bands A-D will be eligible for the rebate however, contrary to some reports, the 'rebate' will not be taken off people’s council tax bills when they are issued.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are putting arrangements in place to make a separate payment to households as soon as possible. The payments will be made:

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• If a household pays their council tax by direct debit – they should be able to receive the £150 directly into their bank account. South and Vale are hoping to start making these payments by the end of April.

• If a household is not on direct debit – it will take longer to make these payments as the councils will need to write to them to confirm their bank details.

To ensure the councils can carry out this work as quickly as possible, they are asking people not to contact them to chase the 'rebate' payment.

Cllr Andy Crawford, Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Assets at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: "With annual council tax bills going to all households this month we know people will be keen to know what's happening with the 'rebate'. There's a lot of work involved, but I can assure everyone that we are working hard to ensure this payment can be made as quickly as possible."