Dorset Council vote against cutting winter fuel payments
The authority's making their feelings known on the Government change
Dorset Council has voted unanimously to oppose the Government’s cut to the winter fuel allowance.
Several councillors said they feared it would lead to increased pressure on the NHS and disproportionately affect the county which has one of the highest percentage of pensioners in the UK.
The meeting of the full council heard of pensioners already sitting in darkness, worrying about meeting their bills.
An estimated 5,000 Dorset pensioners are said to be entitled to extra benefits but do not claim – many not understanding how to do so, or too proud to take what some think of as “charity.”
Sturminster Newton councillor Carole Jones, who runs the Vale Pantry project, said the form to claim age-related benefits ran to more than 240 questions, which she described as ‘just ridiculous’.
She was also critical of Dorset Council publicity which featured a QR code to take those wanting to make a claim to a website.
She questioned how many 85-year-olds were likely to have a smartphone, or know how to use it.
Cllr Jones said that volunteers at the Pantry last week found a pensioner sat in the dark because she was already worried about the cost of winter energy bills:
“Two million pensioners fractionally over the limit (for benefits) will have to make a difficult choice between heating and eating… this is the group who often don’t say anything, or ask for help,” she said.
She said there was no doubt that some of those worried about energy costs, having lost the £300 winter fuel payment, would end up putting additional pressure on the NHS and social care.
Her motion includes the council signing the Age UK petition about the changes, working with community groups to help those are struggling; offering help in appropriate ways to fill in benefits claims and writing to the Chancellor to opposed the loss of the winter fuel payments.
Cllr Spencer Flower said he feared if people could not afford to properly heat their homes they would become damp, leading to bronchitis and, for many, admission to hospital.
“We should be demonstrating, in Dorset, that we are on the side of the older generation,” he said.
Portland councillor Paul Kimber said he had spent time with a pensioner, who looks after her elderly mother: “She is absolutely scared and worried about their future,” he said.
Marshwood Vale councillor Simon Christopher said his area was mostly without a network gas supply and had some of the highest amounts of fuel poverty in the county.
Portfolio holder for the community, Weymouth councillor Ryan Hope, said Dorset Council was already offering support to older residents, some through a £2million cost of living fund it had agreed; and was also working with community groups and the Citizens Advice Bureau to persuade people to claim what they were entitled to.