23,000 Staffordshire Moorlands OAPs hit by winter fuel payment cuts
Councillors have united to oppose the government's controversial cuts to pensioners' winter fuel payments. All political groups on Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, including the ruling Labour group, voted in favour of a motion calling on the government to suspend and review the decision to remove the payments for all but the poorest pensioners.
The motion, which was passed unanimously, also calls on the council itself to do everything it can to support vulnerable pensioners this winter. Winter fuel payments of £200 or £300 were previously handed to all pensioners regardless of income to help them heat their homes during the colder months.
Keir Starmer's Labour government has changed it so only those who claim Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits will now receive the winter fuel payments, The policy, which is expected to save £1.4 billion a year, will affect millions of pensioners, including an estimated 23,000 in the Moorlands.
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District councillors said the decision was 'morally wrong' and criticised the government for implementing it without a proper impact assessment. Independent councillor Linda Malyon and Conservative Joe Porter proposed two separate motions opposing the policy. But they agreed to merge their motions, along with an amendment from Councillor Jim Garvey, in order to show the council is united on this issue.
Cllr Malyon told the full council meeting that the cuts to winter fuel payments could lead to deaths and may end up costing taxpayers more due to increased demand on the NHS. She said: "It's not a saving, it's a death sentence in many ways. Keir Starmer needs to pause this decision and do a full impact survey on what it will do to the senior members of our society. Staffordshire Moorlands is very much a senior population.
"Yes, the council will try and help those who want to fill in the pages and pages and forms to qualify, but there will be hundreds of thousands of the poorest senior citizens who may not qualify. Thirty per cent of people don't claim Pension Credit - if they all did that will wipe out the savings. And some of those who could claim might be too proud to ask. The government needs to pause and rethink and do an impact survey."
Cllr Porter said the government's decision had left the affected pensioners with little time to prepare this winter. He said: "Cutting the winter fuel payment is, in my opinion, morally wrong, because there's been virtually no notice and no compensation measures put in place at all to support pensioners who've had literally a few months notice. This was not in the Labor Party's election manifesto. It's kind of come out of nowhere.
"It's kind of shocked a lot of people that this has been put forward, and I think it's eroded a lot of trust in politics, actually. So the government should think again on this. On this particular issue, they've got it completely wrong."
Cllr Porter said the 'full might of council' should be utilised to help affected pensioners get support this winter.
Labour council leader Mike Gledhill said he was opposed to the government's policy, despite it coming from his own party. He said: "My concern is predominately about those pensioners who will miss out on winter fuel payments because they sit just above the threshold for qualifying, and that's to do with the cliff edge nature of the benefit system.
"That said, my main reason for seconding [Cllr Malyon's] motion is that it says we have a responsibility as a council to mitigate any situation for our residents when we think there are vulnerabilities. It's an understandable thing to urge the government to think again, and I hope they do. But I hope we can have an impact as well."
Cllr Gledhill said this would include helping pensioners access the benefits they are entitled to, working with organisations such as Beat the Cold, and making 'maximum use' of the council's own funds to provide support.