Fenland District Council is among the first in the country to pay 100 per cent of the council tax energy rebate.

The scheme was started in February of this year to help households with the rising cost of fuel bills.

The rebate payment of £150 will be paid to all households in council tax bands A-D in England.

Nationwide data monitoring the scheme shows Fenland District Council is among 11 of 308 authorities who have paid 100 per cent of payments by the end of June, putting them in the top four per cent.

Fenland District Council and Anglia Revenue Partnership’sand four other partner councils were the only local authorities in the region of the 45 councils in the East of England to make all payments by this time.

In total, more than £6.3 million was paid to more than 41,000 households in Fenland.

Fenland District Council also paid out more than 80 per cent of its ‘discretionary’ energy rebate payments by the end of July, ensuring additional assistance to vulnerable households.

Leader of Fenland District Council, Cllr Chris Boden, said: “We have, in partnership with ARP, remained committed to making sure these rebate payments are made efficiently to provide essential financial help to our residents during the current cost of living crisis.

“We have also been at the forefront of helping our software supplier design, develop and implement effective systems and processes in order to make these payments swiftly, which has helped pave the way and simplify the process for many other local authorities.”

The council is also one of the few local authorities in England that has now allocated 100 per cent of its COVID-19 Additional Relief Fund to local businesses.

They were awarded around £1.9 million at the beginning of 2022 by the government to finance the relief fund aimed at providing additional financial support to businesses that suffered as a result of the pandemic and received no financial assistance through previous covid related relief schemes.

All eligible businesses in Fenland were contacted by the council near the start of the year which resulted in 665 local businesses receiving financial aid to help them recover, spending all of the £1.9million award.