Increase help to keep out the cold, Lib Dems say
Powys’s Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to double the Warm Home Discount for existing recipients and make it available to 579 extra pensioners across the county.
The party says the measure would prevent pensioners being forced to “choose between eating and heating this winter”.
The call comes amid fears that local residents, particularly 3,574 pensioners on low incomes, could be at risk from the energy crisis this winter.
Currently £419,300 is spent on the Warm Home Discount in Powys. Under Liberal Democrat plans this funding would rise to £1,000,720.
The Warm Home Discount, funded by energy firms, is due to give people £140 off their electricity bill this winter. It is available to those who receive the ‘Guarantee Credit’ element of pension credit as well as some people on low incomes, with around two million receiving it each year across the UK.
The Lib Dems are calling on the Government to take on the cost of the Warm Home Discount and immediately double its value to £280, helping pensioners cope with soaring bills this winter.
Welsh Liberal Democrats and Mid and West Wales Senedd Member Jane Dodds said: “The Conservatives are pushing the most vulnerable pensioners and families into a cost of living crisis. We are seeing a double whammy of rising bills and the slashing of vital support.
“Residents in Powys should not have to choose between heating and eating this winter. We simply cannot allow those who are already struggling to bear the brunt of this government’s terrible mistakes.
“We are calling for a £1,000,720investment to help people cope with soaring bills this winter.”
