South Yorkshire's Mayor: 'Support mechanisms' will be in place to help vulnerable people this winter
Gas & electricity prices are set to increase this week
South Yorkshire's Mayor insists 'support mechanisms' will be in place to help keep vulnerable people safe + warm through the autumn & winter months.
From tomorrow - gas & electricity prices will rise by 10 per cent across England, Scotland and Wales.
Despite this, around 10 million pensioners will no longer be eligible for winter fuel payments to help them with their bills during the coldest time of year.
However, Oliver Coppard believes the 'short-term sacrifice' will be worth it in the long run:
"The cost-of-living crisis have affected almost everybody across South Yorkshire, and it's been a really tough time for plenty of families and businesses.
"We want to make sure energy prices are as low as possible, which's why the government are investing now in renewable sources of energy - so that we don't have these price hikes and fluctuations on such a regular basis.
"Absolutely everybody who is eligible should be applying for pensioner tax credits.
"There are services and systems out there to help people - I know it's a complicated form - that's one of the challenges, but there are people out there to help.
"If people need help with this, they can get in touch with my office through their local MP's and councillors, because everybody needs to stay safe and warm over winter.
"There are support mechanisms out there to help everybody."
The new Labour government will deliver their first autumn budget next month.