£1m lifeline to freezing pensioners in Kent
The county council has secured the money from government
Kent’s pensioners, who might just miss out on winter fuel payments, are being offered £1m worth of help as the weather turns chillier.
A pot of cash, the Household Support Fund (HSF), will be set aside by Kent County Council (KCC) in the coming months, to help the most vulnerable.
The newly-elected Labour government has come under fierce criticism for cutting state help to heat the elderly’s homes, with only those entitled to pension credits getting the payments.
The offer comes as the Unite union threatened legal action against Sir Keir Starmer’s administration, warning old people will die in their homes.
Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, hoped to save £1.5bn through the changes and help to plug the £22bn black hole in Britain’s finances.
But KCC says there are many others who are just missing out on the handouts.
The council has managed to access HSF, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), to provide targeted support to those who miss out on the fuel allowance.
Conservative leader of KCC, Roger Gough said: “We think it is really important to ensure that there is support for those people who are going to be really affected by what’s happened with the winter fuel allowance and who are not eligible for pension credit.
“There are an awful lot of older people in Kent who don’t qualify for pension credit, but are just at that level above it.
“People for whom this winter could mean real hardship. This support is aimed at those who will experience real pressure throughout the winter and may have to make difficult decisions about energy or food.
“So the focus will very much be ensuring those older people can be in a much better situation than would otherwise have been the case.”
More details about how the new scheme will work will be announced soon on KCC’s Kent Together page.
Charities, including Age UK, has been calling on the government to reverse its stance on winter fuel payments.
The government has claimed it supports old people with millions seeing their pension rise by £1,700 over the life of the parliament.
A statement said: “Over a million pensioners will still receive the winter fuel payment, and our drive to boost pension credit take up has already seen a 152 per cent increase in claims. While many others will also benefit from the £150 warm home discount to help with their energy bills over winter.”