It IS heartbreaking to see the lack of concern in Parliament for the plight of millions of the poorest pensioners who are being stripped of their Winter Fuel Payments. It has happened without warning, just as we are heading into winter and energy costs are rising sharply.
There will be votes this week, which could result in this decision being scrapped. But Parliamentarians may bow to Government pressure just to wave this dreadful decision through.
Of course there are many pensioners who can easily afford to lose this money and I believe the payment should be rolled into the State Pension. It would then be taxable, reducing the cost without taking it from the poorest.
And of course the Government says payments will still go to the poorest pensioners, but that is simply not true.
Millions of the poorest are not receiving Pension Credit and there is no chance that most of them will keep the Winter Fuel money.
A payment of £200 or £300 a year does not sound like much to most of us, but for many pensioners it is significant.
The announcement was supposedly necessary to fill a black hole in the nation’s finances.
But even if the £22billion figure is correct – and it is certainly questionable – this cutting of pensioner benefits is a political choice and nothing to do with affordability.
It is the wrong decision, at the wrong time and will undoubtedly harm the health of large numbers of elderly citizens, who were already struggling to make ends meet in 21st century Britain.
No government should try to balance the nation’s books on the backs of poor pensioners.
This dangerous, irresponsible decision amounts to punishing all pensioners just because some are well off. This is no way to run
social policy.
The Government knows hundreds of thousands of pensioners entitled to Pension Credit do not claim it. It says it will try to encourage them to apply, but this has been tried for years and still so many are not getting it.
In any case, this claim is disingenuous. If half those pensioner non-claimants suddenly started receiving Pension Credit, the extra costs will be more than the entire expected £1.4billion savings.
And millions of the poorest pensioners would still be left without!
There are also millions who narrowly fail to qualify, who live on less than Pension Credit recipients as they get none of the extra help with housing costs, council tax and healthcare.
Government insists it had to cut spending because, if the country can’t afford it, we can’t pay it.
Sadly, I fear many pensioners will follow the same line when it comes to heating their homes – “If I can’t afford it, I can’t turn it on”.
Older people need to keep warmer and spend more time at home than younger generations, so being able to afford heating is important for their health.
The removal of hundreds of pounds, without warning, is certain to put many at greater risk of illness. This will increase pressure on an already overloaded health and care service, costing more to taxpayers than continuing the Winter Fuel Payments this year.
This dreadful decision was rushed through Parliament without any proper impact assessment. In fact, the Government declared no proper assessment was needed because the removal will not have an impact on any sector in the country. That statement is indefensible.
Not only will this result in harm to the health and lives of some of the oldest, frailest pensioners, it could also fail to achieve the expected Exchequer cost savings, whether because of additional Pension Credit take up, or extra costs to the NHS as pensioners become ill over winter.
There are fairer ways to handle Winter Fuel Payment costs.
Just removing it from higher rate taxpayers, as has happened with Child Benefit, would not hurt the poorest. Taxing it, rather than axing it is also a possible option.
Surely it is time for a proper, detailed review of all aspects of pensioner support, to assess ways of changing the rules without harming the poorest.
Meanwhile, the Winter Fuel Payments should be maintained this year as the safest option.
