
In the letter, I note that the Winter Fuel Allowance used to cover a third of a dual fuel bill – it now only covers a fifth. With 25,700 excess winter deaths last year attributable to people’s inability to keep warm, we cannot afford these cuts. Restoring the winter fuel allowance to the level it reached under the Labour government would cost £695m; by contrast, the impact of cold housing on people’s health already costs the NHS over £850m a year.
We cannot afford these cuts. It cannot be right that those who are the poorest and most vulnerable should be left without heating again this winter. I am calling on the Chancellor to act and reverse this decision so that lives may be saved.
Notes:
In March 2011 the Government cut the Winter Fuel Allowance from £250 to £200 for those over 60 and from £400 to £300 for those over 80.
The Government has also cut funding for the Warm Front scheme by more than two thirds and is planning to phase it out completely.