A Tory councillor – and town mayor – is to ask Fenland District Council to challenge the government’s decision to remove the winter fuel payment from many pensioners. “This will have a devastating impact on vulnerable people this winter,” says Cllr Gary Christy, a Conservative councillor, and Mayor of March.
“The winter fuel payment has been a lifeline for many older people and that restricting its availability solely to those on pension credit risks leaving many pensioners in financial hardship,” he says.
“From this autumn, those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer receive the annual payments, worth between £100 and £300.
“In Fenland the number of people eligible for winter fuel payments in 2022/23 was 22,033. The estimated number of people under new plans is 2,536, meaning 19,497 people will lose this benefit.
“That is a loss of at least £5million in benefits to the pensioners of Fenland.”
https://twitter.com/Iromg/status/1837944810180956173
Cllr Christy has tabled a motion to the full council meeting on September 30 that includes asking council leader Chris Boden to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the winter fuel payment.
He also wants Cllr Boden to “ask the government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim pension credit, are protected from fuel poverty”.
Here are the estimated number of pensioners in each Cambridgeshire constituency who will lose the winter fuel allowance under government plans. The blue bars are numbers receiving benefits, who will keep the allowance; the red bars show the numbers who will lose out. pic.twitter.com/3NwmC1rCZn
— Phil Rodgers (@PhilRodgers) September 23, 2024
Cllr Christy says in his motion: “While some pensioners currently in receipt of the winter fuel payment may not require it, many thousands across Fenland sit just above the cut-off for pension credit and will now lose their allowance.
“The decision to means-test winter fuel payments, especially with such short notice and without adequate compensatory measures, is deeply unfair and will disproportionately affect the health and well-being of our poorest older residents.
Labour conference delegates BOO as showdown vote on winter fuel allowance axe is delayed until Wednesday – when Keir Starmer will be out of the country https://t.co/QBumKFqrdJ pic.twitter.com/hoXehtNvOe
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) September 23, 2024
“The government’s approach fails to consider the administrative barriers and stigma that prevent eligible pensioners from claiming pension credit, leaving many without the support they desperately need.”
Cllr Christy adds: “Labour’s policy is regressive and backward, particularly for those living in rural communities. Labours policy will mean more pensioners will die from the cold this winter.”
In his motion he claims the proposal to remove the winter fuel payment from those who do not claim pension credit or other means tested benefits “has the potential to disproportionately affect our most vulnerable residents, particularly those in rural communities”.
Around 20,000 pensioners in Fenland will lose their winter fuel allowance as a result of Labour’s cut.
Labour are making a choice.
Money for the inflation busting wage demands of their union paymasters.
Cuts for pensioners who will have their health and finances put at risk. pic.twitter.com/LlorGSIn7z
— Steve Barclay (@SteveBarclay) September 5, 2024
His motion quotes sources from bodies such as Age UK who also have complained and expands on the affects of the financial hardship he believes will be felt across many communities in Fenland and elsewhere.
He also wants a series of other actions to be undertaken to raise awareness of the issues and particularly to “commit the council to signing 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”.
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Cllr Christy is also chairman of community transport group FACT.
35 of the 43 members of Fenland Council are Conservative.
