DWP 'directly contacting' thousands of people who are owed free £300

1.2 million letters are being sent to people ahead of losing £300 from the Department for Work and Pensions. The DWP is writing to 120,000 Housing Benefit claimants over the future of their Winter Fuel Allowance following the criteria shake-up.

Rachael Maskell, Labour Party MP for York Central, spoke out in the Commons "To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of asking local authorities to contact every pensioner on Housing Benefit to encourage them to take up Pension Credit; and if she will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of whether local authorities have sufficient resources to undertake that task."

Emma Reynolds replied: "The Deputy Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions wrote to all local authorities on 20^th August. The letter acknowledged the vital role local authorities play in supporting their communities.

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"The Government recognises that many local authorities already do a huge amount of work to promote benefit take-up. We are asking that local authorities support our national Pension Credit campaign and help us reach those eligible pensioners who have not claimed Pension Credit, so they continue to receive an annual Winter Fuel Payment.

"Building on last year’s ‘Invitation to Claim’ trial, the Department will be directly contacting approximately 120,000 pensioner households who are in receipt of Housing Benefit and who may also be eligible for, but not currently claiming, Pension Credit.

"We will be inviting these households to apply for Pension Credit before the 21 December backdating deadline, in order to ensure that if they are eligible they will also qualify for a Winter Fuel Payment." DWP estimates that 880,000 pensioners are eligible for Pension Credit, but not claiming the income-related benefit and has launched a nationwide awareness campaign to drive take-up of the benefit.