People in parts of Norfolk may still have weeks to wait for a £150 payment promised by the chancellor.
The ‘council tax rebate’ was announced by Rishi Sunak in February as part of a £9.1bn Treasury support package, to help people get by amid the soaring cost of living.
Residents living in properties within council tax bands A to D are entitled to receive the £150 payment - and were initially told by Sunak that they would receive it in April.
But most of those eligible are still waiting to receive the cash, as councils grapple with new software and ensuring the payments are made securely.
Norwich City Council was the only Norfolk authority which said it started to distribute the payment - at least for those who have a direct debit set up for their council tax.
A council spokeswoman said: “For those who don’t pay by direct debit, we have to set up new systems to ensure payments are made securely.
“We’re doing this as quickly as possible – and will be in touch with these households to arrange their rebate over the next few weeks.”
A spokeswoman for Broadland and South Norfolk councils said: “It is a complex procedure to validate all payee accounts, but we are making good progress and are currently on schedule to meet our target of the end of April.”
People in Great Yarmouth borough are not likely to receive the payment until early May however.
“This kind of payment is not something we have done before and we have had to make changes to our software,” a spokesman said.
“These changes are currently undergoing final testing. Once testing is complete, the more than 60pc of eligible households that pay their council tax by direct debit will automatically receive a payment – hopefully in early May.”
In North Norfolk, the payment is not expected until an unknown point in May, due to software needing to be tested.
People in West Norfolk will meanwhile receive the payment “within the next few weeks”, with a council spokeswoman saying that they too had had to test their systems.
Breckland Council did not respond to a request for clarity.
The authorities said they were also establishing systems to pay those who do not use direct debit for their council tax - and warned residents to be wary of scams surrounding the payment.
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