The decision of the government to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment is wrong. Its consequences will be felt by people who are poor, but not poor enough to get pension credit. Age UK estimates that 2 million people will struggle as a result of a the loss of this money. Many of these will be tenants.
“We strongly oppose the means-testing of the Winter Fuel Payment because it means as many as 2 million pensioners who badly need the money to stay warm this winter will not receive it and will be in serious trouble as a result.”
It will threaten the health of old and vulnerable people.
“Means-testing the Winter Fuel Payment, with no notice and no compensatory measures to protect poor and vulnerable pensioners, is the wrong policy choice, and one that will potentially jeopardise the health as well as the finances of millions of older people this winter – the last thing either they or the NHS needs.”
What is making many people particularly angry is that there is a ‘cliff-edge’ whereby you only have to have a few pence more income than the qualifying limit for pension credit and you lose the whole lot. Prior to the General Election Labour was seeking a commitment from the then government that they weren’t going to cut it.
Like all arguments in favour of means-testing it is said that money is going to people who don’t need it. In the old days, when we had a more progressive taxation system, the well-off were paying graduated taxes. Means-testing is always more expensive because you have to police it.
The argument that our economic circumstances are so dire that ‘tough choices’ have to be made, that “there is no more money”, is false. Leaving a regressive taxation system in place is a choice. Maintaining the two child cap but not capping bankers’ bonuses is a choice. There are plenty of means of raising the funding for social measures which do not hit poor people. Capital gains tax could be taxed like employment income, for one.
Our own history shows us that with political will, funding can be found. The Atlee government faced a far worse economic situation than we do, with debt to GDP ratio of 250%. Yet Aneurin Bevan tripled the grant for building council housing and launched the NHS.
The call of Age UK on the government to rescind the decision to means-test Winter Fuel Payments merits support. It has produced a petition which already has more than 320,000 signatures. We would call on your readers to support this as a means of pressuring the government to change its mind.
Of course, if we ended the profiteering of the energy companies then the government wouldn’t have to spend this money.
Martin Wicks
Swindon Tenants Campaign Group
Martin Wicks 