Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:26 pm Post subject: Winter Fuel payments to rise for Over 60's.
While today's Budget was generally gloomy with tax hikes across the board and much talk of 'stability' there was at least some much-needed good news for the nation's pensioners.
Sweetening the blow of swingeing tax hikes on everything from alcohol to family cars with high emissions, the Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a raft of measures to make life easier for millions of pensioners.
Delivering his first Budget since becoming Chancellor last year Darling told MPs said: "For this year I have decided to help pensioners who are facing pressures such as higher energy bills,” he said.
"I will raise the winter fuel payment for over 60s from £200 pounds to £250 pounds and for the over 80s from £300 to £400 pounds.
"Nine million pensioner households will be better off."
The announcement from the Chancellor comes in the wake of news yesterday that spiralling energy bills have more than doubled the number of pensioners struggling to stay warm to 2.25million in only four years.
Research by charity Age Concern showed that Labour appeared to have reneged on promises to protect the vulnerable from falling into fuel poverty.
Millions of elderly people in the UK face a bleak choice between keeping warm and eating.
The Chancellor also had stern words for energy companies, who he warned would be forced to contribute more to help the elderly meet their fuel costs.
He said: "Energy companies currently spend around £50 million a year on social tariffs.
"I want to see this rising to at least £150 million a year over the period ahead."
While today's increase in winter fuel payment is an improvement, it still falls well short of the £100 increase that Age Concern had called for.
Gordon Lishman, Age Concern director general, said: "An increase to the Winter Fuel Payment this year1 is a spoonful of sugar to make the bad medicine Budget go down for pensioners.
"Although this announcement is welcome many older people will feel it is nowhere near enough to address the cocktail of price hikes they have had to swallow this year.
"With limited room to manoeuvre this Budget suggests older people are not among the Chancellor's key priorities.” "Whilst increases to the Winter Fuel Payment this year are good news in the short-term, we need to see a long-term solution for the estimated 2.25 million older people in fuel poverty.
"Vague promises on extra help on pre-payment meter charges and social tariffs simply aren't enough for the government to meet its target on fuel poverty. A radical new package of measures should be introduced to target all of those in fuel poverty. "
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