ALMOST 130,000 homes in Dorset could be eligible for the Government’s £150 rebate on council tax.

The figure was given in response to a question from Weymouth town councillor Lucy Hamilton at Tuesday’s Dorset Council meeting.

The Government is planning to make the payments to help people meet the cost of rising fuel prices, applying it to those who live in smaller homes, rated A-D on council tax bandings.

Finance portfolio holder Cllr Gary Suttle said that of the 129,561 properties in band A-D across the county, 22,886 of the total number are in Weymouth.

Said Cllr Suttle: “Whilst this new assistance is referred to as a Council Tax Energy Rebate, please may I just confirm that this is not a rebate against your Council Tax liability. Government have asked Local Authorities to utilise the Council Tax lists and banding structure to help identify households they wish to help support with this financial assistance for an energy rebate.”

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He said Dorset Council had yet to receive any guidance from the Government about the authority’s role in administering the rebate.

In her question Cllr Hamilton warned that this year will be tough for many people on lower incomes, some having already suffered financially because of the pandemic, and others having to bear the loss of £20 in Universal Credit.

Said Cllr Hamilton: “Many households are likely to be economically vulnerable for some time to come. Going forward, councils want to work with government on an effective long-term solution to preventing poverty and disadvantage that moves away from providing crisis support towards improving life chances and building resilience. This is vital to levelling up and tackling the stark inequalities exposed by the pandemic.”