copyright Lisa Baker 2021

Bridgend County Borough Council has confirmed that more than 14,500 eligible residents living in A, B and E council tax band properties have received financial support designed to help them cope with increases in living costs.

A further 7,100 residents living in band B and C properties have been processed and are due to receive the payment by 1 June. The next eligible residents to be processed for the payments will be those who live in band D properties.

Known as the ‘cost of living’ payment, the support forms part of a £152m Welsh Government initiative to help households recover from the Covid-19 pandemic and deal with the impact of increasing energy, fuel and food bills.

To be eligible, households must have been in receipt of support through the council tax reduction scheme on 15 February 2022, regardless of the valuation band in which their property is placed.

Alternatively, they must have been within council tax bands A-D and liable to pay council tax on a property on 15 February 2022 while not in receipt of an exemption, occupying a property on 15 February 2022 and at the date of determining the award, living in the property as their main or primary residence, and responsible for paying the property’s utility and other regularly incurred bills.

Households living in properties eligible for disability adaptation band reductions are also eligible for the payment.

To find out more, visit the cost of living payment page at www.bridgend.gov.uk