To consider the following motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order 5:
(1) Conservative Motion: Protecting our most vulnerable pensioners from Fuel Poverty
In their drive to be the Government of change Chancellor Rachel Reeves is proposing to restrict Winter Fuel payments to only those pensioners on pension credit. Winter Fuel payments play a significant role in helping older residents of Warwickshire and across the UK to afford heating during the coldest months thereby preventing 'heat or eat' dilemmas and safeguarding health.
Restricting winter fuel payments will impact over 107,000 residents across Warwickshire and will disproportionately impact rural communities where homes are more likely to be older and less energy efficient. Rural houses have on average 49.6% energy efficiency compared to 65.5% in city centres.
This will leave the most vulnerable Warwickshire residents, on fixed incomes, no time to plan for the extra financial burden which could in turn jeopardise not only their finances but also their health. Public Health England reports a 1.5% increase in excess winter deaths for every degree Celsius drop below 18°C, underscoring the critical need for adequate heating.
This Council resolves to:
1. Bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to ensure eligible Warwickshire residents are made aware of the availability and eligibility criteria of Pension Credit, including through the delivery of Council services and partnerships with the VCSE, to help ensure that all eligible pensioners in Warwickshire are supported in claiming their entitlement.
2. Requests that the Leader of the Council write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask for funding for a local advertising and outreach campaign to raise awareness about Pension Credit and other benefits, targeting pensioners who may be eligible but are not currently claiming.
3. Request that the Leader of the Council write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the Government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.
4. Encourage all elected members to sign the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK.
Proposer: Councillor Penny-Anne O’Donnell
Seconder: Councillor Piers Daniell
Decision:
That this Council resolves to:
1. Bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to ensure eligible Warwickshire residents are made aware of the availability and eligibility criteria of Pension Credit, including through the delivery of Council services and partnerships with the VCSE, to help ensure that all eligible pensioners in Warwickshire are supported in claiming their entitlement.
2. Requests that the Leader of the Council write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask for funding for a local advertising and outreach campaign to raise awareness about Pension Credit and other benefits, targeting pensioners who may be eligible but are not currently claiming.
3. Request that the Leader of the Council write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the Government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.
4. Encourage all elected members to sign the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK
Minutes:
Councillor Penny-Anne O’Donnell moved the following motion, which was seconded by Councillor Adrian Warwick:
In their drive to be the Government of change Chancellor Rachel Reeves is proposing to restrict Winter Fuel payments to only those pensioners on pension credit. Winter Fuel payments play a significant role in helping older residents of Warwickshire and across the UK to afford heating during the coldest months thereby preventing 'heat or eat' dilemmas and safeguarding health.
Restricting winter fuel payments will impact over 107,000 residents across Warwickshire and will disproportionately impact rural communities where homes are more likely to be older and less energy efficient. Rural houses have on average 49.6% energy efficiency compared to 65.5% in city centres.
This will leave the most vulnerable Warwickshire residents, on fixed incomes, no time to plan for the extra financial burden which could in turn jeopardise not only their finances but also their health. Public Health England reports a 1.5% increase in excess winter deaths for every degree Celsius drop below 18°C, underscoring the critical need for adequate heating.
This Council resolves to:
1. Bring forward a Council-led local awareness campaign to ensure eligible Warwickshire residents are made aware of the availability and eligibility criteria of Pension Credit, including through the delivery of Council services and partnerships with the VCSE, to help ensure that all eligible pensioners in Warwickshire are supported in claiming their entitlement.
2. Requests that the Leader of the Council write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask for funding for a local advertising and outreach campaign to raise awareness about Pension Credit and other benefits, targeting pensioners who may be eligible but are not currently claiming.
3. Request that the Leader of the Council write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the Government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.
4. Encourage all elected members to sign the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK
In proposing the motion, Councillor O’Donnell stated that whilst she appreciated tough decisions were part of politics, tough choices did not have to be cruel and the impact of the loss of the winter fuel payment would be an increase in winter deaths. She stated that the British Medical Association noted that pensioners were more likely to be fuel poor, being more vulnerable during the winter months and spending more time in the home. AGE UK had spoken out against the lack of notice given and the compensation measures were the wrong choice. Councillor O’Donnell said that there would be a disproportionate impact on rural properties due to the rising cost of heating and limited access to health services. The proposals failed to consider the stigma which would prevent pensioners from claiming pension credit and, in any event, many thousands were just above the cut off for the means test. She argued that a more compassionate approach was needed.
Councillor Adrian Warwick seconded the motion and reserved his right to speak.
Debate:
During a robust and lengthy debate, Members made a number of points, commenting on both the national picture and the local impact. The key points from the debate which supported the motion were:
· The cut-off point to claim pension credit was below the new state pension full rate weekly payment, excluding anyone claiming the new state pension of £221.20 per week. This was perceived as a low figure which it would be difficult to live on. Additionally, some residents would be disproportionately affected – eg single pensioners, women, those with high energy needs due to disease or disability, and those living in energy inefficient homes.
· Reaching vulnerable groups to assist them in claiming pension credit would be difficult as they were unlikely to subscribe to the internet or possess a smartphone.
· The claim form was unwieldy and off putting. Additionally, people who devoted their time to caring for others did not have time to fill-in such lengthy forms. Assurance around support for the Citizens Advice Bureau and other voluntary bodies advising clients on the completion of the forms was sought.
· As people made difficult choices between eating and heating, there would an increasing impact on GP services and COPD services.
· There was stigma attached to claiming pension credit and many pensioners would be too proud to do so. In any event, if all those who were entitled to claim pension credit did so, it would result in a net loss to the Treasury rather than a saving.
· There were other options open to the government such as basing the payment on council tax bandings.
· People were making efforts to reduce their bills in a number of ways – eg reducing the proportion of the rooms in their homes which they used in an effort to save fuel as the cost of moving home and the price to purchase bungalows was not economical, or travelling on buses during the day to keep warm.
· It was anticipated that local government would be expected to foot the bill to meet the gap in support that would be created by this new policy. Whilst this Council provided support through the Welfare Support Grant and Warm Hubs (and would continue to do so), that funding was for all residents in need to access and was not sufficient to fill the gap left by this decision from central government. It was also noted that it was not clear whether the criteria for using the Household Support Fund would enable its use for this purpose.
· The cessation of the Winter Fuel Allowance was not in the Labour Manifesto (although it had appeared for previous elections) and it was questioned whether this had always been intended.
· The Winter Fuel Payment was of significant support to those on fixed incomes with no other means of inflating their income. The government had supported other groups (Train Drivers and Junior Doctors were cited) to increase their incomes, as well as permission being given to energy companies to increase prices, so the direction of the government’s choices was therefore clear.
· A more considered view may have been achieved if time had been taken to consult with MPs and capture their concerns.
· The point of rural heating policy was raised, specifically around the energy efficiency of rural homes not on the main network and using LPG gas was raised and it was hoped that some opportunities to develop local heat networks could now be explored.
· Councillors Brett Beetham and Robert Tromans shared the emotive experiences of their residents.
Conversely, the following points were made against supporting the Motion:
· Pensioners in receipt of other benefits were eligible for the winter fuel payment, not just pension credit.
· The new government had inherited the budget from the previous Conservative government and the new chancellor wanted to target resources where they were needed. Some changes were therefore anticipated in the Autumn Budget Statement on 30 October 2024 but there was a timing issue around informing people about the cessation of the Winter Fuel Allowance due to the date it was calculated from.
· In the context of the timing issue above and not knowing what was in the Autumn Statement, the Motion was poorly timed, although there was some sympathy for the feeling behind it. In response to this particular point, it was argued that winter was fast approaching and in the absence of information about what other action the chancellor would be proposing, now was the time to defend vulnerable pensioners.
· There would be a major publicity campaign regarding the change. It had been suggested that 80,000 people were entitled to pension credit and not claiming; this indicated that it was possible to identify who they were, and support could therefore be targeted appropriately. It was considered that this was an effort that the Council could support.
· The previous government was blamed for poor choices around NHS and GP services, the introduction of the bedroom tax, and cuts to local authorities resulting in spending pressures.
· Whilst it was agreed that application forms for pension credit were unwieldy, the previous government had had opportunity to update the process of application.
· Whilst it was a difficult choice, there were other people facing similar dilemmas, people who were using foodbanks and facing significant pressures on their finances, so a choice had to be made due to the poor financial position left by the previous government.
In seconding the motion, Councillor Warwick reflected on the impact that the pandemic and war in Ukraine had had on the national economy and the way that the government had dealt with it. He noted that locally 107,000 pensioners would be affected by the policy and he reminded the meeting that in the previous year they had also had additional help in the form of a cost of living allowance and the energy price cap was due to rise from 1 October 2024. Whilst he understood the comments that there would be a new budget announced at the end of October, he considered that people would already be cold and suffering by the time they could benefit from any new policies. He responded to comments regarding the inheritance of a £22bn black hole in the nation’s finances by recalling that the previous government had inherited a poorly performing economy which had been turned around to be one of the best performing in Europe. In that context this seemed to be a minor saving with a devastating impact.
Responding to the debate, Councillor O’Donnell asserted that it was not opportunistic in terms of timing, but had been brought to represent the concerns of local residents. She noted the comments that had been made regarding the application process for pension credit and the choices that the new government had had to take but asserted that the aim of the motion was to seek alternative solutions as there were other ways of applying the policy. She also thanked Members for sharing their residents’ personal stories.
Vote:
A recorded vote was requested. The results were.
Votes for
Councillors Richard Baxter-Payne, Brett Beetham, Margaret Bell, Sarah Boad, Peter Butlin, Jonathan Chilvers, Jeff Clarke, John Cooke, Andy Crump, Yousef Dahmash, Tracey Drew, Judy Falp, Bill Gifford, Clare Golby, Brian Hammersley, Dave Humphreys, Marian Humphreys, Andy Jenns, Kam Kaur, Dale Keeling, Justin Kerridge, Christopher Kettle, Chris Mills, Jeff Morgan, Penny-Anne O’Donnell, Bhagwant Singh Pandher, Daren Pemberton, Will Roberts, Kate Rolfe, Jerry Roodhouse, Isobel Seccombe, Ian Shenton, Jill Simpson-Vince, Tim Sinclair, Mejar Singh, Rik Spencer, Heather Timms, Mandy Tromans, Rob Tromans, and Adrian Warwick (40)
Votes against
Councillors Barbara Brown, Jackie D’Arcy, Sarah Feeney, and John Holland (4)
There were no abstentions.
Resolved:
That:
1. A Council-led local awareness campaign be brought forward to ensure eligible Warwickshire residents are made aware of the availability and eligibility criteria of Pension Credit, including through the delivery of Council services and partnerships with the VCSE, to help ensure that all eligible pensioners in Warwickshire are supported in claiming their entitlement.
2. Council requests that the Leader of the Council write to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to ask for funding for a local advertising and outreach campaign to raise awareness about Pension Credit and other benefits, targeting pensioners who may be eligible but are not currently claiming.
3. Council requests that the Leader of the Council write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a review of the decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment and asking the Government to ensure that vulnerable pensioners, particularly those who do not claim Pension Credit, are protected from fuel poverty.
4. Council encourages all elected members to sign the ‘Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners’ petition being run by Age UK