Plan for food bank to help with winter fuel costs

The council's decision came after the government restricted winter fuel payments

A food bank is to receive £5,000 from Oswestry Town Council to help people struggling with heating costs this winter.

Councillors agreed to make the grant in response to the government's means-tested withdrawal of winter fuel payments from some pensioners.

They will also write to the chancellor Rachel Reeves outlining their opposition to the move.

Proposing the grant, Green councillor Duncan Kerr said it could be a "life or death" issue for some residents.

Ms Reeves has set out plans to restrict winter fuel payments to those people receiving Pension Credit, saying it would help to fill a hole in the public finances.

Opponents said the move would leave many pensioners just above the threshold unable to make ends meet as temperatures dropped.

Liberal Democrat councillor James Owen asked for the proposal to be deferred, pending more details from Oswestry and Borders Food Bank about how payments would be allocated.

But Conservative John Price said: “I was elected to represent people in Oswestry and I don’t think we’ll be sleeping at night by listening to a statement that we have to do due diligence prior to helping a person who’s cold, tired, ill, suffering from social isolation.”

Mr Kerr added that the food bank had the "dedication and commitment" to run the scheme, and could assess applicants' eligibility in the same way as for other programmes.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.