Pensioners will ‘struggle to survive’ winter without energy payments

Pensioners in Greater Manchester could be left “struggling to survive” this winter following cuts to winter fuel payments, councils have warned.

Fears are growing in town halls across the region that elderly residents could find themselves unable to keep their homes warm enough when temperatures drop.

Thousands of pensioners in Greater Manchester are set to lose out on the £200 to £300 yearly sum, after a majority of MPs backed proposals to limit the payment to those who get Pension Credit, or pensioners claiming other means-tested benefits.

In Stockport, council leader Mark Hunter said up to 50,000 people in the borough will be at the sharp end of the cuts – around 90 percent of those currently eligible.

He said the move will “leave many residents currently on the margins of fuel poverty struggling to heat their homes and stay alive this winter.”

He added: “We believe the criteria being applied are too narrow and consideration needs to be given to those pensioners who either do not qualify for Pension Credit or have not yet applied.

“Other criteria have been suggested by various bodies and we call on Labour to do the decent thing and reconsider this, trying to find a way of giving support to those who rely on it at present.”

Coun Jilly Julian, Stockport council’s finance lead, said: “If the government must restrict the Winter Fuel Allowance, there has to be a better way to cut it than this.

“Pension increases won’t be felt until April – well after winter – and between now and then there will be huge numbers of residents facing a choice between heating and eating.”

Bernie Gallagher, a 69-year-old pensioner from Bolton and secretary of the Bolton and District Pensioners Association, said elderly people in Greater Manchester are “frightened” about what the cut means for them.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We get on on the streets and talk to people, hundreds of them, it’s heartrending the stories that some are saying about it. It’s really quite sad and emotional to hear how frightened people are.

“They’re scared about not being able to keep their homes warm.

"Older people generally are good at planning because their income is fixed, they plan ahead and know what bills are coming in.

"But it’s the speed that this is being brought in.

“One woman in her 80s didn’t know anything about it, there are still people who are eligible for pension credit who don’t get it, it’s really scary.

“Energy bills are going to go up, we don’t know what kind of winter we’re going to have.

"Some are carers too and they can’t suddenly decide they’re going to cut back on energy because they’re caring for other people too.”

Meanwhile in Salford, council chiefs say 25,000 households currently receive winter fuel payments, but only 6,000 claim pension credits, meaning thousands are due to lose out on the money.

Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said the payment is “an absolute lifeline” for many, and that the knock on effect of losing it will “pile pressure on local health and social care services.”

He told the LDRS: “Like many local leaders I’m really concerned about the decision to change the winter fuel payments for pensioners.

In an area which ranks 18th on the government’s own Index of Multiple Deprivation, loss of these payments will have a disproportionately negative impact, and I’ve already received heartbreaking emails from residents worried that they will not be able to afford to heat their homes this winter.

“I’m also worried that this may be a false economy for the government, as it will inevitably drive more demand to the Household Support Fund which they have extended for six months, especially from those households just above the threshold for claiming pension credits.

“In the context of a cost of living crisis and normalised higher energy bills, high inflation driven by increased prices of necessities such as food, the loss of winter fuel payments could mean the difference between some pensioners being able to heat their homes or not.

“I understand and support this government’s commitment to tackling the financial mess it has inherited from the Conservatives.

"But taking money away from ordinary pensioners, especially those struggling with the cost of living crisis, is not the way to do this.”

Salford MP Rebecca Long-Bailey abstained during yesterday’s vote in the House of Commons and said there are “grave concerns” about the impact it will have on the city.

In a statement shared online she said: “So many constituents have told me that cuts to winter fuel payments are the wrong choice, that it will cause them significant harm, and they are frightened, especially as they are being introduced without prior consultation or an immediate strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality, and low incomes among older people.”

Tom Morrison, MP for Cheadle in the borough of Stockport, added: “Over the last few weeks, I have been inundated with correspondence from concerned local pensioners about the proposed cuts to Winter Fuel Allowance from the government.

"I wholly reject the Government’s plans as they stand and voted against them.

“Too many pensioners will be pushed into fuel poverty, and setting the means testing limit to that of Pension Credit is simply too low.

"My Lib Dem colleagues and I will continue to fight for pensioners by pushing to restore the Winter Fuel Allowance for all pensioners.

"The almost 17,000 pensioners in Cheadle who will lose out deserve better.”

In Oldham, council leader Arooj Shah (pictured above) said just 5,500 of Oldham’s 37,000 pensioners receive pension credit and will continue to receive the Winter Fuel Allowance payments.

She added: “We are determined to ensure that no pensioner in Oldham goes cold this winter.

"We know the changes to the winter fuel payments will worry older people in the town which is why we’ve been working with AgeUK Oldham to minimise the impact.

“Over the past six months we have identified hundreds of older people in Oldham who are entitled to pension credit, but aren’t claiming it.

"Along with AgeUK Oldham we have already contacted – by phone, letter and in person – those households to encourage them to apply and we will continue to do so as winter approaches.

"We are also supporting the government’s campaign to get people to sign up.

“We also welcome the government’s announcement that the Household Support Fund is to be extended and we will be using those funds to make sure that older people affected by the change to allowance have access to support if they need it.”

The government has defended the plans and said that “the dire state” of public finances motivated the move.

A spokesperson said: “We are committed to giving pensioners the dignity and security they deserve in retirement, which is why we are protecting the Triple Lock with the State Pension set to increase by £1,700 over the course of Parliament.

“But given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right that we target support to those who need it most.

"Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the winter fuel payment, many will benefit from the £150 Warm Home Discount scheme, and we urge others to check their eligibility for Pension Credit.

“Through the public awareness campaign that we have launched there has been a 115 percent increase in Pension Credit claims in the past five weeks compared to the five weeks before.”

Age UK estimates that a total of 2.5 million older people on low incomes are set to lose their Winter Fuel Payment.

Caroline Abrahams CBE, charity director at Age UK said: “As the weather chills – as it is forecast to do as early as this week – older people on low incomes will be trying to decide whether they can afford to turn their heating on or not.

“Our biggest fear at Age UK is that many in the two and half million group will choose not to even try to stay adequately warm, for fear of a fuel bill they won’t be able to pay.”

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