Debt ridden council pledges cash for pensioners

Thurrock Council's Labour administration has pledged £100,000 to help pensioners this winter

Thurrock Council, which has been effectively declared bankrupt and in need of government support, has pledged to help pensioners with their winter fuel payments.

The offer applied to elderly residents who received benefits but no longer received their winter fuel allowance from central government following the decision to means test the payments to save £1.4bn.

The Labour administration at Thurrock Council said £100,000 from the Household Support Fund was "real money to help Thurrock pensioners who need it most".

Thurrock Conservatives said the money being used was provided by the last Tory government to help residents with the cost of living.

Thurrock Council leader, Labour's John Kent, promised the "pensioner winter support fund" would be simple and effective for elderly residents to access support.

Working with Thurrock's community and voluntary services the council launched "Thurrock Cares" to provide support and advice to local pensioners and help them "sign-up for the benefits they are entitled to", including pension credit.

Kent told the full council meeting he did not welcome the changes to winter fuel allowance by the government and "this is not where any of us would want to be".

He blamed the "toxic Tory legacy" of the last government and the Conservative administration in Thurrock for a debt of £1bn.

The Conservatives raised a motion condemning the Labour government's cut in the number of people receiving winter fuel payments of up to £300.

Councillor Andrew Jefferies said it was "nothing short of a disgrace" that more than 10,000 pensioners in Thurrock would no longer receive the payment.

Labour said the local Tories brought in £5 weekly charges for pendant alarms for pensioners when they were running the cash strapped council.

The winter fuel allowance was established in 1997 by Chancellor Gordon Brown for all pensioners.

This summer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the payments would be means tested so only the poorest would receive the money - about 10 million pensioners will not be eligible.

Other councils have adopted similar support schemes. Basildon Council announced earlier it aimed to provide 1,000 pensioners with £100.

Details of how much Thurrock pensioners could expect to receive has not been announced yet.