Over 2,000 South Suffolk pensioners will miss out on Cold weather payments, say Lib Dems.

10.15.00pm GMT Thu 14th Jan 2010

Up to 2,225 pensioners in South Suffolk and 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.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb said:

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

"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."

South Suffolk Parliamentary Campaigner Nigel Bennett added, "We have the scandal of fuel poverty and badly insulated homes for many pensioners and now the Government's own figures show thousands are not accessing the payments they need to help keep their homes warm."