More than 15,000 households in the Dorset Council area are still waiting to receive their £150 council tax rebate, new figures reveal.

The council confirmed that 15,248 eligible households were yet to receive the one-off payment, as of the end of August - equating to £2,287,200 in owed payments.

Rebates started landing in people's bank accounts in April with over 105,000 of households coming in the Dorset Council region receiving the money so far.

Payment has generally happened automatically for those who pay their council tax bills by direct debit.

Delays had been expected for council taxpayers without direct debit arrangements - with local authorities needing to attempt to contact them about the rebate scheme and carry out checks, the Local Government Association said earlier this year.

The rebate had been announced as part of a wider package of support: it meant every household in council tax bands A to D would receive a £150 payment.

But 12.6% of the 120,908 eligible households are still waiting for Dorset Council to deliver on the rebate.

The Government has also pledged £144m in 'discretionary funds' to help those not covered by the main rebate scheme, or to provide further support to those who are: such as those who have a council tax reductions due to a disability, but do not live in a band A to D property.

However, the figures show that no households in Dorset had been paid from the discretionary fund as of yet.

A spokesperson for Dorset Council said: "As part of the Governments support to help households with rising energy bills they have provided funding for councils to give all households in England, whose main residence is listed in council tax bands A – D, a one-off non repayable payment of £150.

"By the end of August Dorset Council Tax had paid £150 Energy Rebates totalling £15,849,000 to 105,660 households

"We are currently processing the final claims that have been received.

"Those households which are eligible, but who haven’t submitted a claim will have the £150 Council Tax Energy Rebate paid directly onto their Council Tax account by 30 September.

"The £877,800 discretionary fund will be open for applications soon with the awards processed by the closing date of 30 November."

Details of this scheme and the other support available to help residents with the cost of living are available at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/w/cost-of-living-help