Newcastle council tax rebate callers face hour-long wait

Thousands of people in Newcastle wanting help to claim a £150 council tax rebate are facing telephone waits of more than an hour.

The payments were announced by the government earlier this year to provide assistance in the face of rising energy bills.

Newcastle City Council said many people were hanging up before their calls were answered.

The authority has apologised and said it was bringing in more staff.

People in bands A to D are eligible for the rebates with anyone who pays their council tax by direct debit due to receive their payment directly into their bank account.

However, those who pay by other means must apply separately and more than 50,000 households in Newcastle are being asked by the council to fill in an online form.

Civic Centre call handlers have reported "an extremely high level of demand" for help completing the applications.

In an email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, local authority bosses said the number of calls had increased to more than 1,000 per day - resulting in waiting times of more than an hour and a "high call abandonment rate".

The city's Liberal Democrat opposition claimed the struggles were "entirely foreseeable" due to cuts in frontline staff and an "over-reliance" on online services.

In response, Labour's Paul Frew, cabinet member for resources, said: "I am sorry to the people that have been left waiting for this money.

"We are pulling in as many staff as possible to deal with the high number of calls, extending the phone line and letting callers know how long the queue is so they know whether it's best to call back later."

Residents have until 31 August to apply for the payment, after which the £150 will be credited to their council tax account to ensure all eligible households receive it by the government's deadline of 30 September.

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