Most people in Bolton who have still not received their one-off £150 council tax rebate should be paid “by the end of this week.”

Many people have been asking when the money will fall into their accounts.

The rebate was introduced by the government as a way of helping families across the country cope after being battered by the cost-of-living crisis and rising fuel bills.

Bolton Council approved the local version of the scheme at a meeting on April 25 and have already completed millions of pounds worth of payments to people with direct debits.

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “Payments have now been processed for all eligible council taxpayers who pay via direct debit and these residents will have received their £150 rebate by the end of this week.

“So far, around 69,000 rebates have been issued at an approximate total of more than £10million.”

In total, Bolton was allocated a package of £16,918,950 towards paying people the rebates, of which around £10million has now been paid.

But the payments have so far only been paid to people who have regular direct debits set up with the council, while people who pay by other methods may have to wait longer.

The council spokesperson said: “We are finalising a process whereby residents who do not pay via direct debit can apply for the rebate and updates will be available on the council website.”

The rebate was introduced as a partial response to the nationwide cost of living crisis that has proven to be particularly devastating in Bolton, with a total of £144million made available to local authorities all over the country.

Even before the energy prices started to soar, government figures showed that more than 18,000 people were already living in fuel poverty in Bolton.

They are now facing a crisis with households around the country expecting to pay around £700 more per year on their bills.

Council leader Martyn Cox has said the payments should help to make sure that people are not “in a situation where people can’t heat their own homes.”

But he has admitted that if people continue to struggle later on this year a more thorough reform of the energy market may be necessary.