Up to 1.7m pensioners will miss out on Cold Weather Payments

12.00.00am GMT Tue 19th Jan 2010

Up to 1.7m pensioners will miss out on Cold Weather Payments triggered by the recent weather, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats.

Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by as many as 1.7m pensioners.

A regional breakdown is attached.

Commenting, North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb MP said:

"It is a scandal that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments, worth an estimated £42.5m.

"7600 North Norfolk Pensioners will miss out, fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold Weather Payments all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension."

"Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need.

"The Government should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash."