Charity calls for better winter help for elderly

A charity that supports elderly people is calling on the government to do more to keep pensioners warm.

Cambridgeshire-based Age UK said three out of four pensioners admitted they were cold in their own homes throughout January.

This week a petition was handed in at Downing Street with 650,000 signatures - including more than 63,000 from the East of England - urging the government to help older people stay warm at home.

Melanie Pittock, chief executive at Age UK Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, called the situation "deeply concerning", adding that "no-one should have to choose between heating and other essentials".

The charity highlighted pressures being felt by older people this winter with two in five (41%) pensioners saying they had recently had to cut back on heating or powering their home.

The charity said, for those pensioners on low to modest household incomes of £20,000 or less, a massive one in three (35%) said their home was too cold most or all of the time.

Earlier, the charity strongly opposed the cut to the winter fuel payments and warned that at least 2.5 million older people would struggle without it.

This meant since last year, those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits would no longer get the annual winter fuel payments, worth between £100 and £300.

Previously, the prime minister Sir Kier Starmer defended the decision to scrap universal winter fuel payments, saying it was needed to repair what he claims is a £22bn "hole" in the public finances.

On Tuesday, it was announced energy bills for a typical household could rise by more than £100 a year in April under regulator Ofgem's new cap - a higher-than-expected increase adding pressure on people's finances.

Charities said the price increase would be a painful blow for billpayers.

Ms Pittock said: "This is the first January since the government decided to means-test the winter fuel payment and it is deeply concerning that so many older people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are saying they are cold in their own homes, some, most, or all of the time.

"No-one should have to choose between heating and other essentials, yet our local communities are seeing too many pensioners facing exactly that dilemma.

"Age UK's petition, supported by over 63,500 people in the East of England, demonstrates the overwhelming public concern about this issue.

"The government needs to take decisive action to restore confidence, safeguard health, and prevent avoidable hardship."

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