Elwyn Watkins and Oldham East & Saddleworth Liberal Democrats

Including Oldham, Saddleworth, Lees, Royton, Shaw & Crompton

6,000 Oldham area pensioners will miss out on Cold Weather Payments

1.39.00pm GMT Tue 12th Jan 2010

Winter (photography: Richard Stilwell)

Up to 1.7m pensioners will miss out on Cold Weather Payments triggered by the recent weather, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats.

This includes 6,000 people in the Oldham area.

Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioners.

Commenting, Elwyn Watkins 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."

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Previous news story: Elwyn Watkins puts fairness at the heart of the Liberal Democrat campaign (Mon 11th Jan 2010).
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