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PRINTEmbargoed until: 4 February
Poverty charity Elizabeth Finn Care, which supports people who have unexpectedly fallen on hard times, has handed out one-off payments of £50 to every family it helps after this winter’s recent cold snap dramatically increased their fuel costs.
The charity decided to provide the extra £95,000 after many of its most vulnerable beneficiaries said they would struggle to pay the higher bills brought on by this winter’s extreme cold.
Although we are giving to all our beneficiaries irrespective of age, pensioners have been hit particularly hard. Cold Weather Payments can only be claimed by those pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit, and yet recent research has shown that £2.4 billion worth of Pension Credits go unclaimed each year by around 33 per cent of those entitled to them.
Pensioners may already be benefiting from the Winter Fuel Allowance, but the recent increase in gas use and escalating prices across the energy sector (up 22% in 2008-9) means a more substantive approach is now required to safeguard the health and well-being of our old people.
The undignified and complicated system of means-testing on which Pension Credit is based, coupled with a lack of experience of the benefits system, is leaving many pensioners risking illness or death by keeping their heating turned off for fear of the cost.
Bryan Clover, director of casework at Elizabeth Finn Care, said: “While most of us in the UK are relieved that the worst of the cold weather is behind us, there are people out there who are anxiously holding their breath in fear of the heating bills that are due to arrive. Will they be able to find the money to pay them? For too many, the answer is probably not.”
Elizabeth Finn Care is calling on the Government to make better provisions for those living in fuel poverty.
While we have asked other benevolent charities to undertake similar measures for their beneficiaries, the massive shortfall in provision cannot be made up by the charity sector alone and so we have written to Gordon Brown urging him to extend the Cold Weather Payments to all pensioners in the forthcoming Budget.
Elizabeth Finn Care has been supporting those in financial hardship for over a hundred years, and has already committed to give more than £4 million in 2009/10 to those in need across the UK. But as a charity with limited funds, we can only scratch the surface.
Stressing the need for immediate action, Elizabeth Finn Care has written to the top 50 UK benevolent charities, urging them to make additional payments to their beneficiaries.
Bryan Clover added: “In a modern, affluent society, it is outrageous that people are being put in a position where they are being forced to choose between whether they heat, or eat.
“With a joint-effort, we can reach thousands of people out there who have been forgotten by society and indeed the Government.”
Interviews and case studies are available. For more information please contact Will Davies in the press office, on 020 8834 9259.
Notes to Editors:
- Elizabeth Finn Care is a charity that supports people struggling to cope with sudden or unexpected changes in their circumstances.
- Elizabeth Finn Care provides one-off and ongoing financial help, tailored to individual circumstances, as well as emotional support through our experienced caseworkers and national volunteer network.
- People who seek help from Elizabeth Finn Care are coping with unexpected changes in their life and the resulting financial hardship, typically due to ill health, disability or marital breakdown.
- Since mid 2008, we are increasingly helping people who are struggling financially after redundancy.
- 75% of people who seek help from Elizabeth Finn Care have some level of mental health problems.
- Since Elizabeth Finn Care was founded, we have given £130,000,000 to those in need.