People who lost winter fuel payments ‘should be protected from bill rises’

The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to cancel energy bill rises for pensioners who no longer get winter fuel payments.

Energy regulator Ofgem this week confirmed that a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will see their annual bill go up by £9.25 a month - or £111 a year - in April.

The Lib Dems are concerned about the impact this will have on pensioners, after the government limited winter fuel payments to those receiving pension credit or other mean-tested benefits.

“The government needs to realise the error of their ways and that a situation like this can never be repeated,” said Steve Darling, the party’s work and pensions spokesperson.

“That means cancelling energy bill rises for those pensioners who have had their winter fuel payments cruelly stripped away.”

Government ‘must process pension credit applications more quickly’

The government announced earlier this week that almost 50,000 more pensioners are getting pension credit support following a surge in applications.

But official figures also showed that 33,700 outstanding claims are still to be processed.

The Department for Work and Pensions said this is in line with normal levels of pension credit claims waiting to be processed, despite it handling a record number of claims in recent months.

However, the Lib Dems said this will mean little to those who are still waiting for their applications to be dealt with.

“Ministers' promises of boosting pension credit applications are utterly meaningless if they can’t process those claims in time, leaving many shivering in their homes,” Mr Darling said.

How to claim pension credit

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