With price rises already surging as a result of the Middle East War, the Government has failed to give assurances that older people will be protected as in the last energy crisis. Silver Voices has issued our demands for Government support, including raising the lower tax threshold. Join Silver Voices today to help strengthen this vital campaign:
www.silvervoices.co.uk/join-us
The following statement sets out the Silver Voices position:
In the Chancellor’s statement last week on the emerging energy and fuel crisis caused by the Middle East War, Rachel Reeves gave no assurances that pensioner households will be supported with the anticipated extra cost- of-living pressures in the coming months. Indeed, there was much emphasis on ‘targeted support’ and ‘means-tested support’, and at this stage universal support for households, as implemented in the 2022-24 energy crisis, seems to have been ruled out.
In the Ukraine invasion cost-of-living crisis, all UK households were given significant support with their energy bills. In addition, all pensioner households were supported with £300 extra to the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) in both 2022/23 and 2023/24. These sums were paid directly, without application, and without being taxed.
In what we described as a “powder puff” statement by the Government, all the Chancellor had to offer was the Triple Lock increase in April, now taxed for most older people, which was agreed last year to compensate for rises in the cost-of-living before the War started! In response to the blatant profiteering and price gouging which is already taking place on station forecourts and supermarkets, all the Government had to offer was more studies by the weak Competition and Markets Authority and some undefined new powers at some undefined future date.
This position is unacceptable when so many older people are already living close to the edge of poverty and who will not be able to cope with further steep rises in food and energy prices. Figures released on Thursday by the DWP showed that 1.7 million older people are already living in poverty, up by 200,000 in the last year. Targeted support for pensioners usually means just those on pension credit, ignoring the millions of older people struggling just above that income level.
In the face of a crisis which could become worse than that of three years ago, Silver Voices will call and campaign for the following measures:
- Significant cost-of-living support for all pensioner households, without application or means-test
- Raising the lower tax threshold to help all low-income households
- Reverting to the original policy of providing the WFP to all pensioner households, not just to individuals below £35,000 per annum
Silver Voices will be needed more than ever to campaign for cost-of-living support for older people, particularly as next winter approaches. We are the only representative organisation prepared to take on politicians of all parties robustly, on behalf of senior citizens, without looking over our shoulders at Government contracts and grants or at Charity Commission rules. And we are very effective, as evidenced by our successful mass Triple Lock and WFP campaigns in recent years.
Now is the time to further increase our membership, to make our Voice even stronger. So please contact all your friends and contacts and urge them to join Silver Voices today.