Green Party councillors in East Herts have slammed the government’s cuts to winter fuel payments for older residents and called for more funding to reduce energy bills through better insulation.
Multiple Green Party councillors spoke against the cuts at a meeting of East Herts District Council on Wednesday 16 October, highlighting that Age UK estimate 2 million pensioners who rely on this crucial support to stay warm during the winter months may be ineligible under the new Winter Fuel Allowance criteria.
Locally, in East Herts, 27,486 pensioners could lose access to this vital financial assistance. This could create severe financial strain for many older residents and exacerbate existing health and wellbeing challenges, particularly for those just above the Pension Credit threshold.
Addressing the meeting, Cllr Alex Daar (Green, Hertford Bengeo), Executive Member for Communities, said: “We recognise the new Labour-led government’s need to deal with the debts inherited from the previous Conservative government but the burden of paying for cuts must fall on the broadest shoulders not the most vulnerable residents in our community. We urge the government to make up the shortfall in funding through a windfall tax on energy companies in the immediate term while other longer-term options are explored. Older people locally are already suffering from years of austerity from the previous Conservative government.”
Green councillors also highlighted how all residents should have the right to live in a warm home and that funding should be increased for home insulation schemes.
Cllr George Williams (Green, Ware Priory), said: “If your car leaks oil, you don’t simply replace the oil, you take your car to a garage to have the fault fixed. However, rather than ensuring we all have heated, insulated homes, we give vulnerable residents a winter fuel allowance, which is effectively passed on to the utility companies. I am completely against means testing the Winter Fuel Allowance and I think it is crucial that we call upon the Government to support pensioners, by increasing funding for free home insulation schemes in order to make winter fuel payments go further.”