Heather Kidd, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Chirbury and Worthen, has made a plea to the Government to review the system of cold weather payments to the elderly in the light of the prolonged period of had weather we are experiencing.
Heather said “The elderly have been hit by the proverbial ‘double whammy’ this winter, not only have we had a sustained period of cold weather but utility prices have risen markedly over the last few years. In rural area this rise is particularly severe as so many are dependent on the more expensive forms of fuel (electricity, oil and calor gas) as mains gas is largely unavailable outside of towns.”
“The elderly are currently entitled to an extra £25 if the temperature stays below zero for seven consecutive days. To put that in context, a resident in my ward who heats her house with electricity (on a pre-pay meter which is even more expensive) currently pays £12 a day to keep warm. The amount of the award simply hasn’t kept pace with the reality of heating costs for older people.”
“The weather being highly variable in the UK at the moment also allows the Government to avoid paying if the temperature climbs above 0 for a few hours in any 7 day period. The Government needs to review this whole system urgently. I’m coming across a number of elderly residents who are frightened of putting the heating on because of cost. Even a small gesture now from Government would go a long way to reassure them, pending a proper review.”