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People 'worried' about cuts to winter fuel payment

BBC Lilian in a pink sweater eating food and looking at the camera with a serious expressionBBC
Lilian said her and her husband are "running out of money"

Residents across the south west of England have voiced their concern as parliament voted to withdraw winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners.

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said the measure is "necessary" to fill an alleged £22bn "black hole" in the budget left by the previous Conservative government.

The decision to go ahead with the cuts was made by parliament on Tuesday afternoon.

Laura Fowler who runs a food pantry in Bridgwater said there was a "genuine concern" amongst service users about "how people are going to afford to live".

Brian Bosley wearing a jean jacket next to his wife standing in front of a phone shop
Mr Bosley said without the money he will think more about turning the heating on

Ms Fowler added: "We have lots of different age groups and I think everyone is affected but the older ages are clearly concerned about what is going to happen with this," Ms Fowler added.

"People are worried."

Eligible households for winter fuel payments receive £200 towards their energy costs every winter.

That payment rises to £300 if anyone in the household is over 80 years old.

At the moment, it goes to all pensioners, but the government wants to limit it just to people on pension credit, which is a means-tested benefit for those on low incomes.

Eric from Lydney in a blue sweater smiling
Eric said he does not know what to do for warmth without the money

At a lunch club for pensioners in Lydney in the Forest of Dean, people gathered on Tuesday to watch the debate.

Eric, who was at the lunch club, said: "What are we supposed to do for warmth? Electric is going up, gas is going up. We bought some wood for winter, that's gone up £30. It all adds up."

Lilian added: "We are going to lose the payment. What are we supposed to do? We're running out of money."

Laura Fowler in a colourful top standing in front of a painted wall
Laura Fowler at a food pantry said people were worried about "how to afford to live"

Brian Bosley, from Bridgwater, said even though it is "costly" to process the heating allowance, it was still "worth it".

"You don't think so much about putting [the heating] on when you have a little money coming in, but if we don't get that we will think a bit harder about when we put it on," Mr Bosley added.

Mae, also from Bridgwater, added: "I'm worried about the pensioners who are just above the limit and can't put the heating on in the winter and that is the worst that could happen."

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