Almost 30,000 people living in Wokingham Borough will be affected by the Government’s decision to scrap the Winter Fuel Allowance for those not receiving Pension Credit. That’s why I was pleased that my motion calling for a rethink of this policy was passed with support from the Liberal Democrat administration at the Full Council meeting.
At the same time, I have written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on behalf of my residents urging her to change this policy to protect the health of many vulnerable people facing a new winter of discontent.
Since it was announced that the Winter Fuel Allowance is going to be restricted mostly to those on very low incomes, there has been widespread opposition. Age UK have expressed their concern, saying, “it is the wrong policy choice” and “will potentially jeopardise the health as well as the finances of millions of older people this winter.”
There are a number of problems with this policy which was not in Labour’s manifesto before the election. Firstly, for older people, the Winter Fuel Allowance is a medical necessity. Aging weakens the immune system making older people more susceptible to respiratory infections. Taking away the Winter Fuel Allowance for so many older people is not just harsh and unfair, it is also dangerous.
I also concerned that this will add further pressure to the NHS and I have asked the Chancellor what assessment was made of the impact of this policy on the Health Service.
On top of this, up to a million pensioners who are eligible for Pension Credit but have not claimed for it. These older people are not online and some will be suffering from age-related conditions that would make it difficult to apply, such as sight loss or dementia. Pension Credit is simply not a reliable measure of how well-off an older person is.
While I am pleased that the Council has begun a campaign to encourage people to apply for Pension Credit it is inevitable that some pensioners will still miss out.
The threshold to qualify is also extremely low. Pension credit is only available to pensioners with a weekly income to £218.15 or a joint weekly income to £332.95 for a couple. This is a very low income for anyone to manage on. To put that into context it is around half the full-time salary of someone on the minimum wage.
On top of this low threshold it is an arbitrary cut off which will see pensioners miss out entirely on any support if they are just a pound above the threshold. Why, if Winter Fuel Allowance is to be means tested, is there no taper as there is with other benefits such as Child Benefit?
This Government is removing one universal benefit whilst introducing a new one: free breakfasts for all primary school children irrespective of household income. But when it comes to pensioners, the Government is penalising one age group by restricting a benefit to a tiny proportion of those who were previously eligible. It seems to me, and to many residents I speak to, that this policy is discriminatory.
At the Full Council meeting, I presented a motion on behalf of the Conservatives calling on the Council to support Age UK’s petition to save the Winter Fuel Allowance. This was approved with backing by the Liberal Democrats, and the debate allowed time to highlight the various forms of support on offer. Sadly, Labour councillors voted against the motion, with one making a speech as though his role was to act as the Government’s representative, rather than his residents’. He also claimed to speak on behalf of young people as though young people would be happy with their grandparents living in cold homes.
Despite Labour’s opposition, this was an example of councillors working across party lines to stand up for some of the most vulnerable people in our Borough.
Pauline Jorgensen is the leader of Wokingham Conservatives
