HOUSEHOLDS across Gwynedd should get their £150 cost-of-living payments by the middle of June.

The council said it had “been putting arrangements in place to ensure that eligible households received the funding they are entitled to receive”. They also warned residents to beware of fraudsters posing as the council.

A council spokesperson said: “Following the Welsh Government’s announcement of a £150 Cost of Living scheme, Gwynedd Council staff have been putting arrangements in place to ensure that eligible households receiving the funding they are entitled to receive.

“We will endeavour to make payments through two methods. The first scheme has seen over 21,000 payments made on 16 May to those qualifying taxpayers for whom we hold bank details and we have good reason to conclude the payment will safely reach them. Where we do not hold bank details, or we are not satisfied as to the details being live, we are making arrangements for those eligible to receive a letter to attend their local Post Office with the instruction letter and identification to collect £150 in cash. More details, with updates as to issue dates, can be found at www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/costoflivingpayment.

“In summary we anticipate letters should start to be issued by the end of May with the process being spread over three weeks (those receiving a letter have 28 days to collect their payment).

“In this way we hope to deliver the vast majority of payments by mid-June without recipients being requested to provide bank details.”

The spokesperson added: “A final discretionary scheme which seeks to aid those in vulnerable categories will also be put in place towards the end of this month and we will seek to make payment by the above payment methods.

“We urge Gwynedd households to be mindful of emails, texts or unexpected phone calls from suspicious sources offering information on the scheme, as this could from someone who is trying to steal personal information, including bank account details. In the event that we ask anyone to provide further details, especially bank details, this would be through a secure portal on our website.

“We would urge all residents and taxpayers to be wary of anyone contacting you to request or gather bank details, if we do make such a request confirmation will be clearly stated on our website.

“There are sufficient funds to pay those eligible, the schemes will be live until September therefore there is ample time to discuss any aspect with us. Email [email protected].”

Although the qualifying date was 15 February 2022 the processing window for authorities is between April and September.

Rather than opting for a data collection form, which would have commenced sooner, Gwynedd Council said it had considered the lessons from operating multiple other grant and payment schemes during the pandemic, and the disadvantages of this approach would have been the length of time taken to process cases, the possibility for fraudulent applications and for fraudsters to target those eligible. Further details regarding Gwynedd Council and this funding is available at www.gwynedd.llyw.cymru/costoflivingpayment.