ADDITIONAL support for 53,000 households within Dumfries and Galloway has been announced as part of the Scottish Budget.
A £150 payment has been credited to each identified household’s 2022/23 council tax bill, which should be received on or around March 17. The cost of living award is based on circumstances as of February 14 2022 and is provided to:
– All those who live in and are liable for council tax for a band A-D dwelling
– A person who lives in and is liable for council tax for a band A-H dwelling and is in receipt of council tax reduction
– All occupants under 18
– All occupants who are care leavers
– All occupants who are severely mentally impaired
– Property unoccupied because the resident has gone to someone else’s home to provide care, or the resident receives care elsewhere.
No award is to be made for empty or second homes, and only one payment per dwelling will be made.
Councillor John Martin said: “It’s important to note why the payment has been made this way.
“Many people will be asking ‘why can’t we just have cash?’ and that’s a reasonable question. The cost of processing a cheque or payment to over 50,000 households would be enormous to the council, but making the payment this way, in line with the vast majority of other council’s in Scotland, allows us to process it quicker and more efficiently.”