Carmarthenshire’s cost of living payments are creeping closer after the county council today (Wednesday) confirmed that its first payments have been made.

The £150 crisis payments have already been paid directly into the bank accounts of all eligible households that already pay their council tax by direct debit. These payments could be issued by council staff as the authority holds the relevant banking information.

Now the remaining 40,000 eligible households are in the process of receiving letters informing them of how to apply for the payment by completing a short online registration form. People are being asked not to register until the letter has been received as it will give each household an access key code.

Householders that do not have online access are being advised to attend one of Carmarthenshire County Council’s Hwbs in Llanelli, Ammanford or Carmarthen where they will be helped by a member of the customer service team.

But they are being asked to take along the letter containing their access code as well as proof of residency, such as a driving licence, utility bill or bank statement which is no older than 3 months).

The council aims to make payment within 20 working days from application, as long as there are no queries with the information provided.

The £150 cost of living payments are being provided to all households which have been placed in properties of council tax bands A to D, as well as all households which receive support from the Council Tax Reduction Scheme regardless of their council tax band.

The payments are being delivered by local authorities across Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government to support households as people recover from the pandemic and deal with the impact of increasing energy and other costs.