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FALLING VALUE OF WINTER FUEL ALLOWANCE LEAVES PENSIONERS IN THE COLD - RENNIE
February 27, 2008 9:18 AM
New figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats have shown that the falling value of the winter fuel allowance has resulted in it paying just one quarter of a pensioner's fuel bills.
While the level of Winter Fuel payments has been frozen at about £200 for the last five years, fuel bills have steadily risen in that time. The average fuel bill for a pensioner, calculated by Energywatch, has risen from £393 in 2003 to £635 in 2007. The independent energy watchdog predicts that the average amount a pensioner will spend on their fuel bills this year will be £731, meaning that the winter fuel allowance is now covering just a quarter of pensioners' bills. The profits of energy companies have also risen over this time.
Mr Rennie is calling upon the Government to take action to hand over some of the energy companies' huge profits to the most needy customers. He said:
"As fuel bills continue to rise, thousands of older people will not be able to afford to heat their homes this winter. Ministers need to tackle the scourge of rising fuel poverty urgently.
"Energy companies have been handed a £9 billion windfall profit from the European Emissions Trading Scheme on top of their already ballooning profits. It is time the Government took action to ensure this excess profit is handed back to the most needy customers through lower energy bills."
Mr Rennie also believes that the qualifying period for the winter fuel allowance is set far too early. To receive winter fuel payments for the 07/08 winter, an individual had to qualify before the third week in September. The Government claims that it has to set the qualifying week this far in advance because of the time it takes to administer the payments. However, Mr Rennie has learned that around 150,000 people who turned 60 after the qualifying week but before the end of the year missed out on receiving payments. He has called for an overhaul of the system for processing payments to make it more efficient so that people who turn 60 during the winter can still apply - and receive - their benefit.
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