"We want a budget that will let us eat - and heat"

10/03/2008

Britain's 11 million people receiving a pension will be keeping a close eye on Alistair Darling's Budget this Wednesday, to see if he is prepared to address the twin concerns of eating and heating.
 
According to the country's biggest pensioner organisation, the National Pensioners Convention (NPC), the Chancellor will have to announce a substantial improvement in pensions and the winter fuel allowance if he wants to win back the support of older voters.
 
Frank Cooper, NPC president said: "This April, the basic state pension will rise by just £3.40 (3.9%) to £90.70 a week. Already it is amongst the lowest in Europe and the Government's reliance on means-tested benefits has done little to help the 1 in 5 older people who still live below the official poverty line.

 

"Three million of today's older people will be dead before the Chancellor restores the link between pensions and earnings in 2012, yet it would cost just £600m to bring it in now.
 
"In the last decade, 260,000 more older people have died during the winter months than at any other times of the year. Yet despite this and the huge rises in energy bills, the winter fuel allowance has been frozen since 2003. For every 1% increase in charges a further 40,000 join the ranks of 1m pensioner households already suffering from fuel poverty. It's a national scandal that older people are still literally dying of cold."
 
"If the Chancellor wants to restore the faith of pensioners in his government, he must raise the state pension by around £45, restore the link to earnings now, and double the winter fuel allowance. If not, the gap between pensioners and the rest of society will continue to grow and come the general election, the grey vote may well look elsewhere."