Heating allowance for S.O. on benefits

[Deleted User]

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

I think the additional deaths of the elderly alone (because young and disabled don't count) last winter (with their significantly higher fuel allowances, as young and disabled don't get cold) totalled ten thousand in 2009.

thats a massive improvement on some years when its been above 20,000

C_Mababejive

richard9991

Vader123 wrote: »

dave, you have been corrected 3 times on this thread for duff information.

Please stop "hoping" for cold weather below 0'C as it really knocks certain people for six.

Vader

ACctully it went up from£8.50 to £25 last year

anmarj

richard9991 wrote: »

ACctully it went up from£8.50 to £25 last year

I am sorry I got it wrong, it was £8.50! brain freeze is my excuse

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I decided that I should check my sources before commenting further - and I'm not really glad I did.

The 10,000 deaths were actually an increase on the previous year's total. The actual totals are in this article http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fuel-bills-blamed-for-50-rise-in-winter-deaths-1826917.html

Wish I had been more wrong. This is so bad - and they don't appear to record disabled mortality from the cold.

And lots of people won't be having the flu vaccines.

C_Mababejive

JJTF i have my doubts about such figures. sure they quote how many people died in certain months but do they actually put cause of death down as the cold/frozen to death etc etc?? Unlikely. this is the UK...not Ice Station Zebra.

It is just populist media scare scaremongering. We have had the mildest winters for a long time.
Maybe people need to put some clothes on instead of whacking up the heating?

kingfisherblue

For some people, putting on additional clothing isn't the answer. Cold air causes my son's breathing to become compromised. I do wrap him up warmly, but the only thing I can do about the cold air is to put the heating on. In the colder months, I have to put it on during the night as well as during the day, as he cannot breathe when the temperature drops. I realise that this isn't usual, but my son has complex needs and this is just one of the problems that he has.

pipkin71

kingfisherblue wrote: »

For some people, putting on additional clothing isn't the answer. Cold air causes my son's breathing to become compromised. I do wrap him up warmly, but the only thing I can do about the cold air is to put the heating on. In the colder months, I have to put it on during the night as well as during the day, as he cannot breathe when the temperature drops. I realise that this isn't usual, but my son has complex needs and this is just one of the problems that he has.

Do you receive DLA for your son, as that will help with the extra fuel costs?

kingfisherblue

Pipkin, I do receive DLA for him and this helps with the additional costs associated with his disabilities, including heating. I wasn't complaining, just commenting because another poster had suggested that people should wear extra clothes instead of putting the heating on.