Ferndown, Political | Posted on October 11th, 2024 | return to news
Ferndown Town Council opposes winter fuel allowance cut
At a Ferndown Town Council meeting, councillors voted to send a letter to the government urging it to delay changes to the fuel allowance.
At the recent meeting of Ferndown Town Council on Wednesday 9 October, councillors heard a motion to express their concern at the Labour government’s changes to the winter fuel allowance and voted to send a letter requesting to delay implementation of the policy.
In August, the government announced that the universal benefit paid to pensioners each winter would be restricted only to those receiving state benefits. The policy was not in the Labour manifesto in the lead up to this year’s General Election, and was implemented to help fill the £22bn “black hole” in the nation’s finances that Labour claimed to have discovered after being voted in to power.
The motion proposed by Ferndown Town Council’s Philip Leach highlighted that the change announced by the government did not give people enough time to save money to offset the loss of the benefit, nor did the government carry out an impact assessment to understand what effect cutting the allowance would have on illness and death rates among the elderly.
The change also comes into action soon after Ofgem, the energy regulator, increased the price cap that energy suppliers are allowed to charge, meaning bills will be higher this winter.
Cllr Leach of Links South Ward said: “Four in 10 households in our town are occupied exclusively by pensioners, double the national average. Many are only ‘just managing’ but are not eligible for means-tested benefits and will struggle this winter in the face of rising energy costs.
“I worry for the health and wellbeing of those who are going to struggle to keep warm this winter – this is the wrong policy at the wrong time.”
During the meeting, Ferndown Town’s Deputy Mayor Cllr Lawrence Wilson, who seconded the motion, said: “Britain pays the highest electricity prices in Europe, [so this policy] is particularly cruel.”
Cllr Ann Miller of Links Ward described Labour’s policy as “evil.”
Following the unanimous vote, Ferndown Town Council will now draft a letter to the government urging the government to delay implementing the change until a full assessment is conducted and consider alternative methods of providing financial support to pensioners who will be left worse off. The current policy means there is a cliff edge in payments, where those earning only a few pounds above the income threshold for pension credits (the main means tested benefit available to the elderly) will not receive any state support.
Ferndown Town Council also voted in favour of developing a ‘warm hub’ at The Barrington Centre to provide residents with a warm place to go to during the winter to save on heating costs at home. The town council intends to offer engaging activities at the warm hub, to give residents more reason to engage and socialise there.
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