THE TENS of thousands of pensioners across Warwick district set to lose their Winter Fuel Allowance are being urged to check whether they are eligible for pension credit to prevent them falling into fuel poverty this winter.
Members of Warwick District Council met on Wednesday (October 2) to discuss the contentious move by the Government to no longer make the payments towards fuel bills available to all pensioners over the age of 66 but only to those on pension credit. This will impact 24,500 residents across the district.
Coun Andrew Day put forward a motion, seconded by Coun Peter Phillips, that the council must do all it can to protect the district’s most vulnerable pensioners from fuel poverty.
Coun Day said: “Every single town, village and hamlet within Warwick district will be impacted by this decision which was not in Labour’s election manifesto.
It leaves our most vulnerable residents on fixed incomes with no time to plan for the extra financial burden.”
Coun Day continued that while some pensioners currently in receipt of the winter fuel payment may not require it, many thousands across Warwick district sit just above the cut-off for pension credit and will now lose their allowance.
An “opt out option” for those not in need of the payment would be a more compassionate approach for the vulnerable in society often too proud to ask for help.
Coun Day continued that the best way to tackle the issue was to ensure as many pensioners in the district as possible were made aware of pension credit and were assisted in applying for it if eligible.
Councillors agreed to WDC’s leader Coun Ian Davison writing to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner to ask for funding for a local advertising and outreach campaign to raise awareness about pension credit and other benefits, targeting all pensioners who may be eligible but are not currently claiming.
It was also agreed that Coun Davison writes to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment.
Coun Davison will also sign the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK and write to all members offering them the opportunity to sign the petition themselves.
PM Keir Starmer has said the country’s finances are in a poor state and the winter fuel payment plan would save an estimated £1.4billion this year.
