My Winter Fuel motion was passed tonight, Labour voted against but Liberals supported me. The motion (with minor amendments) was the Council:
1. Will bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to alert those eligible of Pension Credit with local charities and community organisations to help with access to the Winter Fuel Payment for those most in need;
2. Instructs the Leader of the Council to write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment to protect vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, from fuel poverty; and
3. Will 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.
My speech was:
“Colleagues, I would like to ask you for your support for my motion calling on the Labour Government to rethink its decision to remove the winter fuel payment and to lead an awareness campaign to ensure that people are alerted to the need to claim pension credits and assisted in making claims.
The decision to scrap the fuel credit payments will impact some of the poorest people in the country, who are also most in need of heating. This need is firstly because older people are more sensitive to the cold.
NHS advises people over 65 should heat the rooms they use to at least 18 degrees to stave off respiratory infections and other illnesses.
Also, older people are often at home for longer periods, and some are less able to go out.
In Wokingham Borough scrapping winter fuel allowance will affect 29,194 pensioners of which only 1,417 are in receipt of pension credit.
The threshold for pensions credit is a mere £11,343 a year, roughly half the annual full-time minimum wage.
Would you like to eat and heat your home on that small amount of money?
In stark contrast Rachel Reeves, the architect of this raid on pensioners, has claimed £3,700 of public money in the past 5 years to pay for her heating, on top of a generous MPs salary. Sir Keir Starmer appears to need donations to pay for his clothes and recreation, on top of a salary of £167k and generous expenses.
Let us remind ourselves that Labour introduced this allowance in 1997 following criticism of their below inflation increase of £2.45 in the pension. This was of course before Conservatives introduced the triple lock. It could therefore be considered as part of the basic pension.
Many pensioners affected by this change have worked all their lives and paid tax to support them in their retirement, they have not claimed benefits and often are reluctant to do so. They deserve to retain the pension payments and winter fuel allowance which they have contributed to throughout their working lives.”
