Over 2000 Hemel pensioners could miss out on Cold Weather Payments - Grayson

12.33.43am GMT Wed 13th Jan 2010

Up to 2,045 pensioners in Hemel Hempstead (and 1.7 million nationally) will miss out on Cold Weather Payments triggered by the recent weather, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats.

Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit. However, as many as 2,045 people in Hemel are eligible for the Credit but do not claim it, sometimes because they see it as a form of charity which they do not wish to claim, or they are confused by the forms. That means that they miss out on Cold Weather Payments.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Hemel Hempstead, Dr Richard Grayson said:

"It is scandalous that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments, worth an estimated £42.5m across the UK.

"With fuel prices at an all time high, Cold Weather Payments are all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension.

"Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need.

"The Government should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash."