Andrew Griffith, the Member of Parliament for Arundel & South Downs, has said the Government’s decision to scrap Winter Fuel Allowance for pensioners is “shameful”.
The new Government has confirmed their decision to scrap the one-off tax-free payment for eligible pensioners worth either £200 or £300 per person. The House of Commons will debate the decision taken by the Government on Tuesday 10th September.
According to the Department for Work and Pensions and the Office for National Statistics, a total of 102,246 people across the districts of Chichester, Arun and Horsham will be impacted by the cut.
Until now, the payment had been made to all pensions in England and Wales to help with the cost of energy bills.
During the General Election campaign, the Government said there were ‘no plans to change’ to the Winter Fuel Payment.
Commenting on the Government’s decision to cut the Winter Fuel Allowance, Andrew Griffith MP said:
“The Government’s decision to scrap the Winter Fuel Payments is shameful – especially given Labour themselves said that a cut to the payment would lead to untimely deaths come winter.
The cut also comes at a time when energy costs are rising, despite the fact the Chancellor said that a new Government would cut the cost of energy.
People in the South Downs are rightly angry about this, and I will stand with them in calling for the Government to reconsider.”
