Pensioners skip meals and showers after losing DWP £300 benefit

The DWP outgo chopped has affected galore people

Pensioners are eating less blistery meals, skipping showers and reducing their heating aft a chopped successful authorities benefit. The Winter Fuel Payment, which utilized to beryllium automatically granted to everyone implicit the authorities pension age, offered a lifeline of £200 to £300.

However, pursuing past year's election, 1 of Labour's archetypal changes was to importantly tighten the eligibility criteria for the benefit. It is present lone disposable to those implicit the authorities pension property who are besides connected definite benefits.

The alteration has reportedly resulted successful much than 10 cardinal pensioners losing their seasonal payment, portion conscionable implicit a cardinal person managed to clasp it. A caller survey by Unite the Union has revealed the terrible interaction this has had connected immoderate pensioners.

Many are suffering from intelligence wellness issues, with immoderate adjacent utilizing nationalist facilities similar libraries to flight the cold. The survey recovered that 16% person reduced their intake of blistery meals and a 3rd are showering little often to save money.

Over fractional reported lowering their heating and 63% admitted they felt colder much often this wintertime compared to erstwhile years, reports Lancs Live.

A toal of 17% of radical person reported a diminution successful wellness oregon worsening symptoms owed to the austerity measures they've had to adopt. Mark Boothroyd, a Unite store steward and exigency section caregiver astatine St Thomas' Hospital, has fixed a grim relationship of the existent NHS conditions, likening them to "almost arsenic atrocious arsenic it was during Covid".

He highlighted the influx of "lots of aged patients with flu and different seasonal illnesses", hinting that the caller changes to the Winter Fuel Payment mightiness beryllium contributing to the accrued unit connected healthcare services. The survey findings coincide with a Unite-led objection successful Westminster this week, demanding the restoration of Winter Fuel Payments and suggesting wealthiness taxes arsenic an alternate fiscal strategy.

Unite's wide caput Sharon Graham expressed concern, saying: "Our survey shows that pensioners are suffering real-life effects of this needless chopped to wintertime substance allowance. Retirees should beryllium capable to unrecorded with dignity aft a beingness of work."

A Government spokesperson said: "We bash not privation to spot anyone suffering this winter, which is wherefore we person continued the Warm Home Discount and extended the Household Support Fund which volition assistance with the outgo of food, heating and bills. We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions acceptable to spot their authorities pension emergence by up to £1,900 this parliament done our committedness to the Triple Lock. In addition, successful November Energy UK, successful collaboration with the Government, published a Winter 2024 Commitment which promises £500m of manufacture enactment to billpayers this winter."