Kitcher -"Nearly 3,000 Merthyr pensioners will miss out on Cold Weather Payments"

3.26.44pm GMT Tue 12th Jan 2010

Many older people are struggling to pay fuel bills

Nearly 3,000 pensioners in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 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, which currently goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioners across the UK.

Commenting on the news, Liberal Democrat candidate for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, Amy Kitcher said:

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

"Fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold Weather Payments 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."