My Letter to the Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding Labour's winter fuel allowance cut.
I write to you regarding the Government’s decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Allowance – effectively taking it away from millions of pensioners and plunging them into fuel poverty
In Wokingham Borough a high proportion of residents are retired. In Wokingham Borough scrapping winter fuel allowance will affect 29,194 pensioners, of which only 1,417 are in receipt of pension credit.
I am concerned that as a result of the Government’s changes to the Winter Fuel Allowance poorer pensioners will struggle to heat their homes this year and beyond.
Residents in my ward have contacted me saying that they will have to choose between heating and eating.
As I am sure you will be aware Age UK have expressed their concern, saying, “it is the wrong policy choice” and “will potentially jeopardise the health as well as the finances of millions of older people this winter.”
There are a number of problems with this policy which was not in Labour’s manifesto before the election.
The first is that for older people it is a medical necessity.
The NHS recommends that people over 65 should heat their homes to 18 degrees because they are more vulnerable to cold weather. Aging weakens the immune system making older people more susceptible to respiratory infections. Taking away the Winter Fuel Allowance for so many older people is not just harsh and unfair, it is also dangerous.
We would like to know what assessment was done of the impact withdrawing the Winter Fuel Allowance will have on the NHS.
Secondly, it has been estimated that there are up to a million pensioners who are eligible for pension credit but have not claimed for it. These older people are not online and some will be suffering from age-related conditions that would make it difficult to apply, such as sight loss or dementia. While there has been a reported increase in applications for pensions credit it is likely that some extremely vulnerable eligible pensioners will still miss out. As such, pension credit is simply not a reliable measure of how well-off an older person is.
Thirdly, the threshold to qualify is extremely low. Pension credit is only available to pensioners with a weekly income to £218.15 or a joint weekly income to £332.95 for a couple.
This is a very low income for anyone to manage on and by comparison is around half the full-time annual salary of someone on the minimum wage.
Why, if Winter Fuel Allowance is to be means tested, is there no taper as there is with other benefits such as Child Benefit?
Lastly, this Government seemingly always wants to pursue universalising benefits – for example, introducing free breakfasts for all primary school children irrespective of household income. But when it comes to pensioners, the Government’s objective is to penalise one age group by restricting a benefit to a tiny proportion of those who were previously eligible. It seems to me, and to many residents I speak to, that this policy is discriminatory.
That being the case, what equality and other impact assessments were carried out, and what were the conclusions?
This policy is ill thought out and will risk the health of many vulnerable older people. At the same time, you have spent £10 billion on inflation-busting pay increases for some public sector workers such as train drivers.
I would strongly urge you to rethink this decision before the consequences are disastrous for pensioners but also for the NHS.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Pauline Jorgensen
Member for Hillside, WBC
