MORE than 14,000 Dorset residents eligible for a government energy rebate have still not received it.

The £150 payment is being administered by Dorset Council and is payable to every home within the council tax bands A to D.

The latest figures show that 85per cent of eligible homes in the Dorset Council area, amounting to almost 101,635 properties, have been paid the rebate but 15 per cent of the overall total still have not.

Most of those who have received the payment did so because they pay their council tax by direct debit, making it easier to administer the payments to them,

Dorset Council is now urging those who meet the criteria to make a claim by August 7th – although those who apply later will still be able to get the payment, albeit in a different way.

Council leader Spencer Flower says that staff are working hard to reach everyone and he is hoping those still eligible for the money will soon be paid in what he describes as “these difficult times.”

In May the council wrote to households who do not pay their council tax by Direct Debit, inviting them to claim the £150 to help with the rising cost of energy bills but 14,000 residents have yet to make their claim.

The council says that those eligible for financial support but who do not claim it before the deadline of 7 August, will not miss out on the payment but they will not have the option to have it paid into their nominated bank account. Instead, these households will receive the £150 as a credit on their council tax accounts.

Dorset Council say to qualify for the payment properties need to be the main residence on 1 April 2022.

Check your eligibility and make a claim here