COUNCILLORS in Newport will this week consider what extra cost of living support payments can be granted to residents.

The Welsh Government announced £152 million in funding for councils across Wales to provide a £150 cost-of-living payment to eligible households, with payments starting to be made in April.

In the Newport City Council area, just over 50,000 residents are eligible for these payments, and the council has said more than 80 per cent of households have already received this payment.

Along with the £150 payment, the Welsh Government also announced £25 million of funding for councils to provide discretionary support for other purposes related to living costs across Wales.

Newport City Council was awarded £1,249,635 of this extra funding, which can be spent however the council thinks best to financially support Newport residents, along with £253,210 to cover the administration of both schemes.

The Welsh Government has recommended the additional funding should be spent on supporting households that are excluded from the main scheme and households that could be considered for an additional payment, while also considering how to deal with the £150s which have been unclaimed under the main support scheme.

Those who are excluded from the main scheme, but who could now receive money include: people who are severely mentally impaired, those who are receiving or providing care, care leavers, households wholly occupied by students, occupied granny annexes, households who are under 18 years old, people with disabilities in Bands F to I, and new claimants of means tested council tax reductions.

It is estimated there would be 798 cases of people eligible for these payments, at a cost of £119,700.

A council report suggests there would be 13,142 cases in the city who could be considered for an additional payment.

These include pensioners who currently receive a council tax reduction, working age households who are in receipt of council tax reductions, and households with a domiciliary care plan.

These additional payments would cost £741,640, with payments ranging from £50 to £65 each.

Currently, around 8,000 households in Newport are yet to register for the initial £150 payment. The deadline for these is September 30.

If there are payments which haven’t been claimed, the council report says that Newport City Council will have to decide whether to redistribute these funds as part of the additional payments, or to make a payment to those council tax payer who didn’t claim it to ensure that no household misses out.

This would either be in the form of credit to their council tax account, or a £150 Post Office voucher.

The report notes the proposals would leave Newport City Council around £400,000 of additional funds.

It suggests using this portion of the funding for a money advice service to work alongside the current advice available from other agencies; assistance with energy costs in the form of tokens, for example; and assistance with food costs, such as further support for food banks and community-led food.

Newport City Council will discuss plans for the additional £1,249,635 in cost of living support funding on Wednesday, August 31.