Councillor calls for ‘no repeat’ of 2022 pawnbroker queues over £100 energy payment

A Rotherham councillor wants to stop residents losing a share of a £100 council energy payment in cheque-cashing fees, after people queued outside pawnbrokers to claim similar help in 2022

Councillor Michael Bennett-Sylvester is asking what safeguards are in place to ensure residents without bank accounts receive the full £100 energy payment announced in the government’s budget last week, without losing money in cheque-cashing fees.

In 2022, the Advertiser found people waiting more than half an hour outside town centre outlets to exchange their government-funded £150 council tax rebates for as little as £134.02.

Coun Bennett-Sylvester has tabled a question for full council on Wednesday, November 4, asking what lessons have been learned to prevent the same problem happening again.

Welcoming the £100 payment, he said: “I’m hoping to hear of lessons learned, and that we will be making sure the poorest among us get their full £100 without a significant percentage providing pawnbrokers with a big payday again.”

He said the queues in 2022 had shown “how expensive it is to be poor”.

People paying council tax by direct debit had received the rebate directly into their accounts, while thousands of other households were sent cheques.

Coun Bennett-Sylvester said at the time that those those queuing included people without bank accounts, people whose accounts were so overdrawn they would not see the money, and those who could not afford to wait for a cheque to clear.

The council had decided against offering vouchers which could be redeemed for the full amount at Post Office or PayPoint sites.

Officers said introducing and testing the technology for tens of thousands of payments was not viable, and raised concerns about capacity and handling cash.

However, the council subsequently said people without bank accounts could return their cheque with a telephone number to arrange a cash payment by appointment.

Residents with bank accounts could also return their cheque with their details to receive a direct payment at no cost.

Responding in 2022, council leader Chris Read said the authority had prioritised getting the money out quickly without requiring residents to complete online application forms.

He said there was “no perfect solution or template for making payments on this scale to suit everybody’s circumstances”.

Coun Bennett-Sylvester now wants the council to explain how the new payment will reach people without access to traditional banking.