AROUND 65,000 East Riding households have been paid their £150 council tax energy rebate, with a total of £9.7 million paid out so far.

Earlier this week, East Riding of Yorkshire Council began processing payments to eligible residents who pay their council tax by direct debit.

Councillor John Holtby, deputy leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Distributing funding to support households who are struggling with their energy costs is extremely important.

"However, this is a significant and complex piece of work and the council is working hard to process payments as quickly as possible.”

An additional estimated 35,000 households who pay by direct debit will receive their £150 rebate from May onwards, depending on when the council received a successful payment from their account and dependent on what day of the month the direct debit is paid.

Eligible residents living in the East Riding who are not direct debit payers should have received or will soon receive a letter through the post inviting them to complete an online application form for the rebate on the council’s website.

Around 5,000 customers have completed the application form and provided their bank details and they should receive their payments from May onwards providing the account can be verified.