Monthly Archives: April 2022

Make Sure You Get Your £150 Energy/Council Tax Rebate

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(But check you haven’t received it twice 😊)

An error with the payments means that some people may have had this paid into their bank account twice. If this has happened to you, please make sure you leave the money untouched as the council WILL be recovering it.

LCC have said

“We are aware that a significant number (25,000) of council tax rebate payments have been duplicated, meaning some residents have received the payment twice.

“This is due to a process error where the same payment file was incorrectly processed twice after it was initially rejected by the bank. We are working with our bank to recover the duplicate payments so that the situation can be rectified as soon as possible.

“We would advise residents to check relevant accounts and bear in mind that duplicate payments will be recovered.”

“We would like to apologise for any confusion or inconvenience the duplicate payments may have caused. Our officers have worked hard to ensure residents receive the £150 rebate as quickly as possible, and 120,000 payments have been made correctly.”

Everyone who is responsible for the council tax in a property rated A-D is entitled to the £150 government payment to help with energy bills even if you don’t actually pay any Council Tax because you receive full council tax support (benefit). Unless you pay Council Tax by direct debit you will need to claim this by filling in the form at https://www.leeds.gov.uk/council-tax/%C2%A3150-council-tax-rebate. Caring Together can help members with this if needed.

If you have claimed, or pay by direct debit, and haven’t received payment yet – it is expected to take about 4 weeks to process claims. Payments for direct debit customers are staggered but should all be paid by mid May.

Light of Remembrance – Candle lit vigil walk Leeds City Centre

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Saturday April 23rd 6pm – 9pm

To bring together communities through the losses suffered during Covid-19, a short candlelit vigil walk from the Millennium Square to the Mill Hill Chapel in City Square (Leeds) on the 23rd April, 2022 between 6-9pm.

Schedule:

6pm Meet on the steps of the Civic Hall in Millennium Square where Martin House Children’s Hospice choir will be performing. Civic leaders will be attending and opening our event.

Opening Speakers: Councillor Eileen Taylor; Councillor Sharon Burke; Councillor Abigail Marshall Katung; Councillor Mohammed Iqbal; Councillor Sharon Hamilton

7pm A candle lit walk stopping at significant places to pause and reflect, en route to City Square and finally into Mill Hill Chapel

8pm We will be gathering inside the chapel until 9pm (event finishes)

There will be a musical performance from: Sarah Yaseen & Mina Salama

To see more information or to register: https://t.co/4lIW7QuV85

Light of Remembrance image

Maps to help motorists navigate Leeds city centre and find disabled parking bays

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Two online maps have been launched to help Blue Badge holders and other road users navigate around Leeds city centre as major road improvements are carried out and completed.

The disabled parking map shows the on-street locations where Blue Badge holders can park, with 111 spaces allocated across 21 different locations in the city centre. How to access the spaces and the direction of travel to them is shown on the map in blue, whilst the exit routes are shown in yellow. Everyone registered with the council as a Blue Badge holder will also receive a link to an online version of the and can request a physical copy of the map.

You can view or download the blue badge parking map here https://news.leeds.gov.uk/resources/new-disabled-routes-map-final (note you may need to download it to zoom in on different parts of the map)

New Disabled Routes Map.FINAL

The second map shows which roads have restricted access and at what times. Where there are no restrictions at any time, roads are shown in green. However, others including The Headrow, Vicar Lane and Call Lane restrict access to certain road users at specific times of the day. For example, a large section of Vicar Lane is restricted to only buses, hackney carriages and cycles between 7am – 10am and between 4pm – 7pm.  

You can view or download the current restrictions map here https://news.leeds.gov.uk/resources/current-restrictions-map-final (note you may need to download it to zoom in on different parts of the map)

Current Restrictions Map FINAL

The new restrictions will be enforced by cameras and Penalty Charge Notices will be issued for infringements. Some of the restrictions are already being enforced. Cameras for several of the new restrictions will be activated over the coming months and the public will be notified when new cameras are to be activated. All funds from this will be reinvested into making improvements to the Leeds transport network.

The maps have been created following discussions with stakeholders, to help ensure people can find their way around the city centre during the ongoing major improvements. These changes are part of the £173.5million Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme as part of Connecting Leeds, that aims to dramatically improve public transport and cycling and walking infrastructure across Leeds. It has been shaped from public consultations including the Transport Conversation in 2016, the City Centre consultation in 2018 and consultations on the Headrow and Corn Exchange improvements in 2019.

In these consultations, members of the public asked for:

  • priority for buses, pedestrians and cyclists above private vehicles
  • the retention of access routes to city centre public car parks and delivery routes for businesses
  • easy access for blue badge parking
  • bus gates to increase the reliability of buses travelling through the city centre (A ‘bus gate’ is a short section of road where access is restricted to buses, hackney carriages and pedal cycles only at certain times (as specified by the signage)).
  • enforceable and meaningful restrictions for private vehicle users
  • access maintained to important Leeds landmarks such as the first direct arena, the universities, Leeds General Infirmary, and Leeds Playhouse.

The maps will be further updated once future city centre improvement works have been delivered.

Local Elections coming up

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Make sure you get your vote

Countdown to Leeds local elections gets underway as poll cards issued: Elections FB Locations 1200x628px4

The local elections will take place 4 weeks from today on Thursday 5th May.

Poll cards are now being sent out to everyone currently registered to vote in this year’s elections for seats on Leeds City Council. Please check the details on your poll card when it arrives, and also note the location of the polling station which may have changed. For those wishing to vote in person at polling stations, all necessary Covid-19 precaution measures will be taken to ensure it can be done so safely.

If you are not registered, or if you have moved home and need to register your new address, this can be done by visiting https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. The deadline for registrations is Thursday 14 April.

Postal poll cards are also being sent to anyone currently registered to vote by post.

Anyone wishing to begin voting this way can apply to do so via https://www.leeds.gov.uk/your-council/elections/postal-voting. The deadline for new applications for postal voting is 5pm on Tuesday 19 April, but you are asked to apply as soon as possible to help manage demand.

Another option available is to vote by proxy, which can be applied for via www.leeds.gov.uk/elections. The deadline for applications to vote by proxy is 5pm on Tuesday 26 April.

The elections team can be contacted to address any issues using the helpline at 0113 222 4411 or by emailing electors@leeds.gov.uk.

£150 Council Tax Rebate to help with energy bills.

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Important: You may need to claim to get it.

Most households are eligible for a council tax rebate of £150 to help with rising energy costs.

This rebate is a one-off payment and does not have to be paid back.

To be eligible, on Friday 1 April 2022, your household must:

  • be in council tax band A, B, C or D
  • be the only or main place you live

Find out which band your property is in by checking your council tax bill or the government’s council tax band search.

If you pay your council tax by direct debit you don’t need to do anything, the £150 will be paid into your bank account by the end of April.

If you don’t pay by direct debit you will need to fill in a form to claim your rebate. This form will be available from today at leeds.gov.uk/energybillsrebate

You can choose to be paid directly, or to get £150 off this year’s council tax bill.  

To complete the form, you will need:  

  • an email address
  • your council tax account number
  • one proof of identity, such as passport, driving licence, bank statement or utility bill (this cannot be your council tax bill)
  • Bank details if you want the money paid into your bank.

If you are eligible but don’t pay any council tax because you get full council tax benefit support you will also need to claim via the form at leeds.gov.uk/energybillsrebate

If you need help to claim this you can get help at any of the councils Community Hubs from today.

You can also contact Caring Together for help to fill in the forms.

If you are not eligible for the rebate – for example if your house is in a higher band but you will be struggling to pay your bills there is some support available from a ‘discretionary fund’ and we should have more details on how you can access this soon.

‘Living With Covid’ – Guidance from today and end of free universal testing

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See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-next-steps-for-living-with-covid for full details

From today the updated guidance will advise people with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including COVID-19, and a high temperature or who feel unwell, to try stay at home and avoid contact with other people, until they feel well enough to resume normal activities and they no longer have a high temperature.

Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test result will is advised to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for five days, which is when they are most infectious.

Advice will be provided for individuals who need to leave their home when they have symptoms or have tested positive, including avoiding close contact with people with a weakened immune system, wearing a face-covering and avoiding crowded places.

Free lateral flow tests will not be available for most people and you will not normally be advised to take a PCR test if you have symptoms but to follow the guidance above. However free testing will still be available for some groups if they have symptoms and these include:

• People who are eligible for community COVID treatments as they are at higher risk of getting seriously ill – these people will be contacted directly and sent lateral flow tests at home to use if they have symptoms

• Certain patients in hospital where a PCR test is required for their care and to provide access to treatments and to support ongoing clinical surveillance for new variants

• People will be tested before being discharged from hospital into care homes, hospices, homelessness settings and domestic abuse refuges

You will be able to buy lateral flow tests at chemists

Caring Together has a small supply of lateral flow tests for our members who might need them – please get in touch if this is the case.