Cold weather payments set to be cut
Thursday, 14 October 2010 12:00 AM
By Peter Wozniak
Cold weather payments, designed as an emergency aid to the elderly and impoverished to pay for heating during the winter months, look set to be cut back according to reports.
Gordon Brown raised the payments, which kick in once an area's temperature falls below freezing for seven days or more in a row, last year to £25.
Last night it emerged in parliament that the government was omitting the clause guaranteeing the £25 figure.
There is now speculation that the payments, not to be confused with the winter fuel allowance for which all pensioners are eligible, will fall back to previous levels of £8.50.
During prime minister's questions yesterday, the Labour MP and former minister Ian Austin took David Cameron to task on the issue, asking whether there were plans to make the cutback.
The prime minister was non-committal in his reply, indicating that the decision will only emerge when the spending review is revealed by the chancellor next week.
Mr Cameron has promised that the separate winter fuel allowance, paid in a lump sum to all people of pensionable age will remain unaffected.
Nevertheless, the prime minister will be keenly aware of the political costs of any move to end universality in further areas of welfare spending - following the saga over child benefit cuts that dominated both the Conservative conference and PMQs yesterday.
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