Petition for Winter Fuel Payments for Sick and Disabled

swecri

Winter Fuel Payments are currently only available to those over 60 years of age.

The needs of the sick and Disabled of ALL ages are not being met, as many who are too ill to work cannot afford to heat their homes adequately.

A petition has been started to force the Government to reconsider the eligibility of those who can claim Winter Fuel Payments.

Please please clock the link below, then sign and repost it. I have until Feb 2013 to collect 100,000 signatures for the campaign to be considered for review in The House of Commons.

Campaigns and petitions have been started in the past but have not picked up enough momentum to be successful...

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/28892

welshgal_2

I have signed. Being housebound and disabled in a rural area and being all electric am struggling with fuel bills. I used to be paying 8ppu but now that social tariff has been scrapped it is now 16ppu. I am on a prepayment meter so limited to certain tariffs.
I have been told I can apply for the warm front grant of £120 a year (might or might not qualify) but when my elec bill will be an extra £700 per year, this goes nowhere near enough towards it.
Makes me cross that ALL over 60's get the winter fuel payment regardless of income and savings (when I am on a low income and disabled and it is starting to feel like a choice between eating and heating). They should be means tested. I know of people who get this who have thousands in the bank and admit they do not need it.

McKneff

welshgal wrote: »

I have signed. Being housebound and disabled in a rural area and being all electric am struggling with fuel bills. I used to be paying 8ppu but now that social tariff has been scrapped it is now 16ppu. I am on a prepayment meter so limited to certain tariffs.
I have been told I can apply for the warm front grant of £120 a year (might or might not qualify) but when my elec bill will be an extra £700 per year, this goes nowhere near enough towards it.
Makes me cross that ALL over 60's get the winter fuel payment regardless of income and savings (when I am on a low income and disabled and it is starting to feel like a choice between eating and heating). They should be means tested. I know of people who get this who have thousands in the bank and admit they do not need it.

While I sympathise, and no one should be faced with a 'heat or eat' decision.

I would ask, if you were over 60, and had a few thousand in the bank, would you refuse the WFA.

Are you sure you are claiming all the benefits you are entitled to?

Richie-from-the-Boro

Low income should entitle you to Pension Credit, a benefit for people over sixty. It is based on the amount of money that you have coming in.

It has two elements :

- guarantee credit, and ;
- savings credit.

The guarantee credit of Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed level. The savings credit is for people who have a small amount of their own income or savings. You may be entitled to the guarantee credit or the savings credit, or both. You can claim Pension Credit whether or not you are still working. You do not need to have paid any national insurance contributions.

The warm front scheme is abolished for this year and was to do with insulation / heating improvements / energy-efficient features.
The Staywarm [energy tariff] is available from your energy supplier for people over 60

kingfisherblue

Whilst I realise that DLA doesn't always cover all costs, and I do think that there should be a winter fuel payment for disabled people, I don't think that all disabled people need it. People who have limited movement or lung conditions are more likely to feel the cold. Some respiratory conditions mean that adding an extra jumper just doesn't help because breathing cold air is the problem. I'm sure that there are other scenarios.

But there are people with disabilities/conditions/illnesses who do not necessarily need the additional heat with the same urgency. They may be able to wear extra clothing, or get up and move around more. They may not want to, but that doesn't mean to say that they are not physically able to. For example, I don't see any reason for someone with depression needing a winter fuel payment (I have depression, but don't claim any benefits for it).

However, someone with a respiratory condition may need the air to be warm to prevent their breathing becomiong compromised - I would agree that a winter fuel payment is more likely to be needed then.

Having said that, those who need the additional heat may be like the pensioners mentioned above, and have money in the bank.

It would be a nightmare to monitor, not to mention expensive both in terms of admin and payments. It is never likely to happen, IMO, for disabled people as a whole.

My son falls into the category of respiratory distress in cold air conditions. I wouldn't turn down a payment for him, but nor will I ever expect one for the reasons above. Instead, I will continue to make choices about how to budget. I pay by direct debit for duel fuel and have applied for the £120 credit (but do not know yet whether we will get it). I overpay inthe warmer monhs so that when it is cold, I don't worry too much about using the heating. If I use too much, I'll just have to find a way to pay it off in the future.

pollycakes

I also think disabled people should be entitled to winter fuel allowance, when I live unsupported I could barely afford to top my gas meter up every week, £20 would literally last me two days and thats only having it on temporary throughout the day so most of the time it was freezing, I remember one year having to put every blanket and coat on my settee to keep the cold away.. My bedroom was covered in damp including my bed, the walls were black with the stuff.

rotoguys

The only reason that the WFA is restricted to the over 60's+ is that they don't have the ability to go out to work and are the most likely group that will suffer due to the cold. Those under that age with disabilities or not, are not, it seems, unable to fend for themselves.

I agree entirely with you. For every one 'pensioner' that needs that extra money there is another that will use that money for different things - Christmas presents, etc.

We receive the WFA and it is never used for that purpose. We have already budgeted for the monthly DD for gas and electric so there is no extra cost to us. So why give us the £200 - what do they expect us to do with it? It's not as though our fuel costs are going to increase over the winter by this amount.
Our annual fuel costs (gas & electricity) amount to £1008pa to take into account any bad winter. We pay £84 a month regardless.

It should be means tested for a start, and it should ONLY be given to those that have the Middle or Higher rates of DLA (Care) or AA.

To give it to those that have millions in the bank is downright immoral.

With the CWP - yes that is targetted at the right people - those on low income.

margaretclare

We receive the WFA and it is never used for that purpose. We have already budgeted for the monthly DD for gas and electric so there is no extra cost to us. So why give us the £200 - what do they expect us to do with it? It's not as though our fuel costs are going to increase over the winter by this amount.
Our annual fuel costs (gas & electricity) amount to £1008pa to take into account any bad winter. We pay £84 a month regardless.

We pay £66 a month to E.on for gas and electricity as well as £13.99 heating insurance. I don't approve of WFA being given to all pensioners but I do make sure it goes to a deserving cause. The minute it plops into my bank account it goes out again. I don't know what DH does with his, I don't ask, but he doesn't do Christmas presents, so it doesn't go there.

It should be means tested for a start, and it should ONLY be given to those that have the Middle or Higher rates of DLA (Care) or AA.

Don't you mean 'or' instead of 'and'?

We'd still get it, on the basis of AA.

C_Mababejive

I would have all winter fuel payments withdrawn and subjected to means testing so I shall not be clicking.

margaretclare

C_Mababejive wrote: »

I would have all winter fuel payments withdrawn and subjected to means testing so I shall not be clicking.

I agree with you.

rotoguys

margaretclare wrote: »

We pay £66 a month to E.on for gas and electricity as well as £13.99 heating insurance. I don't approve of WFA being given to all pensioners but I do make sure it goes to a deserving cause. The minute it plops into my bank account it goes out again. I don't know what DH does with his, I don't ask, but he doesn't do Christmas presents, so it doesn't go there.



Don't you mean 'or' instead of 'and'?

We'd still get it, on the basis of AA.

No I actually mean it should be conditional of DLA (Care) mid or high or AA AND it should also be means tested.

As you have pointed out, you are another recipient that does not need it, and neither does your husband as, like me, you pay the same amount each month throughout the year.

I am glad to hear that you, like me, give it to charity. In my case the RNLI.

It's a pity that noy all MP's & Lords don't do the same. IDS refused to donate his - 'I am entitled to it, so I decide what I do with it'.