Winter fuel allowance

[poppett]

The government currently pay a winter fuel allowance to the elderly dependant on their age and number of qualifiers in the household.

Pressure has been put upon them to extend this payment to the low income families on benefits and I have no objection to this, however, once again the carers in the community who give up their employment to care full time for a sick, elderly or disabled relative appear to have been discriminated against.

Found an e-petition which I hope some of the orgers will sign up to in an attempt to assist the carers in the poverty trap. Granted they get carers allowance and the £10 christmas bonus, however if their caree is on Income support or pension credit the carers allowance is deducted from the carees income....... hardly fair.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Carers-Payments/

Thank you for reading this and hope some of you will sign up

[Venture]

I have just signed the petition.

[NLP]

That's it signed.

[Angela]

I agree, poppett, and I'm signing the petition. The contribution that carers make to society is terribly undervalued.:(

I would also like to see this allowance extended to chronically sick and disabled people under retirement age who live alone, have no family who can care for them, can't get out of the house much, if at all, and have to spend a very high proportion of their income on keeping warm.:(

[pat]

just signed - but only 29 have signed.

[Liz]

30 now as have just signed.:D

[teenybash]

Gladly signed..................

[binbob]

i also signed...let us hope they listen.
i think the old folk[i am not yet one] of uk need a great deal more given to them.they deserve it.

[bobandag16]

The government currently pay a winter fuel allowance to the elderly dependant on their age and number of qualifiers in the household.

Pressure has been put upon them to extend this payment to the low income families on benefits and I have no objection to this, however, once again the carers in the community who give up their employment to care full time for a sick, elderly or disabled relative appear to have been discriminated against.

Found an e-petition which I hope some of the orgers will sign up to in an attempt to assist the carers in the poverty trap. Granted they get carers allowance and the £10 christmas bonus, however if their caree is on Income support or pension credit the carers allowance is deducted from the carees income....... hardly fair.

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Carers-Payments/

Thank you for reading this and hope some of you will sign up
signed .need bigger group than just the org.

[mr do dar]

just signed

[telfordstar]

Glad to of signed.

[pat]

Bobandag16


If we all pass it on to friends to get it signed it will soon spread so get passing to friends please

Copy and paste the link to friends

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Carers-Payments/

[Bad Manners]

I've signed hope it does not fall on deaf ears

[Sandra_B]

I've signed, hope this goes through.

[Nibbler]

I have signed this too.

Thanks for bringing it to our attention Poppett :)

Lets hope something happens for the good

[lynne duncan]

signed and passed to friends

[Tilter]

I've signed.
I also can't help thinking the winter fuel payment should be higher for Caithness residents than Cornwall residents . . . .

[balto]

thats me just signed the petition aswell, lets hope it helps.

[coastown]

Added my signature.

[brokencross]

I've signed.
I also can't help thinking the winter fuel payment should be higher for Caithness residents than Cornwall residents . . . .

From Jobcentre Plus website:- Cold Weather Payment
Need help with your heating costs?

What is a Cold Weather Payment?
This is money towards extra heating costs during a week of very cold weather in your area.

You do not need to claim. If you can get a payment, you get it automatically. You do not have to pay the money back.

Can I get a Cold Weather Payment?
You may get a Cold Weather Payment if you get one of the following benefits:

Income Support
income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, or
Pension Credit.
If you get Income Support or income-based Jobseekers Allowance, you must also receive a pensioner or disability premium or have a child who is disabled or under the age of 5.

The Cold Weather Payment will be paid when the average temperature for your area is, or is forecast to be, 0°C or below for 7 days in a row.

What are the benefit rates?
Cold Weather payment: £8.50


If this payment can be temperature activated surely it is not rocket science for the Government to set up a fairer system which takes into account the colder far North with a sliding temperature banding scale.

[Sapphire2803]

That one is slightly different, that's the cold weather payment. The winter fuel payment is paid in about October, regardless of temperature to help with fuel bills over the winter. :)

The problem with the winter fuel payment to my mind, is that it's just not enough now that fuel prices have risen so dramatically. It's paid mostly to the elderly and infirm who would feel the cold more than most anyway.

I can see where you're coming from though, but I think it could possibly cost as much to administrate* as just giving everyone a decent amount in the first place.



*Well it would with the government organising it...

[Angela]

That one is slightly different, that's the cold weather payment. The winter fuel payment is paid in about October, regardless of temperature to help with fuel bills over the winter. :)

The problem with the winter fuel payment to my mind, is that it's just not enough now that fuel prices have risen so dramatically. It's paid mostly to the elderly and infirm who would feel the cold more than most anyway



The cold weather payment is a means tested benefit. I'm not sure whether folk have to apply for it if they are already receiving benefits such as income support or pension credit to top up a low income, or if they get it automatically. Varying the rate depending where people live would certainly make it more difficult and expensive to deal with.

The administration of means tested benefits costs more than that of across the board ones, but there's a trade off in that a lot of people just don't claim for means tested benefits they're entitled to...sometimes they don't even know what they are entitled to.

The winter fuel allowance is paid to everyone over 60 I think -correct me if I'm wrong!:) - regardless of income, which will make the adminstration relatively simple, but I don't think it's paid to the 'infirm' if they're under that age and I do feel for people who are chronically sick and disabled and get no help at all with their fuel bills.

With the state pension age soon about to increase for women - I'll be 62 before I can claim mine! -I'm curious what will happen to the winter fuel allowance.... and also the free bus pass. Will they remain payable to everyone aged 60 and upwards I wonder? Or will they be linked to the lower (i.e.women's) state retirement age until it becomes 65 -and eventually 68 -for everyone?:confused

[Sapphire2803]

It doesn't look good :(
Here's the gumpf on Winter fuel payments from the DWP's site.
Clear as mud.....





What is a Winter Fuel Payment?

The Government will again be making Winter Fuel Payments to most people aged 60 or over for winter 2008/09.
A Winter Fuel Payment is an annual payment to help people aged 60 and over with the costs of keeping warm this winter.
If you are aged 60 to 79 and you are entitled to receive a Winter Fuel Payment, this year you will get either £125 or £250, depending on your circumstances in the qualifying week (15 to 21 September 2008).
If you are aged 80 or over and you are entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment, this year you will either £200 or £400, depending on your circumstances in the qualifying week.
You do not pay tax on Winter Fuel Payments.
If you need to make a claim for a payment for winter 2008/09, you should return your claim form (http://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk/resourcecentre/winterfuel/home.asp) on or before 30 March 2009.
In line with changes to State Pension age for women, the qualifying age for Winter Fuel Payments will rise gradually between 2010 and 2020, from 60 to 65. This means that from winter 2010/11 onwards, both men and women will need to have reached women’s State Pension age by the end of the September qualifying week.

[Welcomefamily]

I would have said its colder over winter in the south west than it is in Caithness, certainly Devon and Somerset because its a lot higher with the exception of a strip of land along the coast at Torquay and Teignmouth.

However temperatures differences vary so greatly over 30 or 40 miles.

[Tilter]

When I mentioned I thought you ought to get more payment the further north you were, I was thinking more along the lines that winters are longer and summers much shorter here than in the south, and you need to heat your house for longer each year. Our heating is set at 18 degrees and it's been on a couple of times already - in August! The cold weather payment doesn't do anything about this.

[poppett]

Thanks to those who have signed up, and hopefully more will see the post and sign the petition.

Pat`s idea is brilliant and I have emailed the link to my email address book, and hope for a good response, and that these good folk may pass it on as well.

[PaulaH]

Can I just thank everyone who has signed this petition which was started by one of our members Fee and kindly passed on by another of our valued members Poppett;)

So far we have managed to post the petition on several carer forums and have 56 signatures so far - hopefully we can make a difference to the lives of current and future carers.

Thank you once again.

Paula
National Carers Forum
www.nationalcarersforum.co.uk