750,000 ELDERLY PEOPLE FACE BEING 'LEFT IN THE COLD'

With the December 21 deadline for winter fuel payments fast approaching...

- Katie Harris

UP to 750,000 pensioners are at risk of being "left in the cold" as the winter fuel payments deadline looms, the Tories warned last night.

Older people have until Saturday to apply for pension credit in order to receive this year's winter fuel allowance. But Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Helen Whately fears that around three-quarters of a million OAPS who are eligible for pension credit but do not claim it will miss out.

She said: "Labour's pension credit deadline is about to slam shut with 750,000 pensioners left in the cold." The Daily Express joined the Tory MP on a visit to a community hub in her Kent constituency as it hosted its weekly free lunch for those in need.

Ms Whately said: "The clock is ticking to that deadline when people have to sign up for pension credit in order to get the winter fuel allowance. I would encourage anybody who thinks they might be eligible to get their application in."

Ms Whately said she feared that with days to go there would be people "who won't have managed to get their application in and that means they're going to miss out on the winter fuel allowance they so badly need. I'm really concerned about how it's going to affect people, making those really difficult choices whether they can afford to eat or heat."

The Government was hit by a backlash for restricting the previously universal winter fuel payments of up to £300 just to claimants on pension credit and the Express launched a campaign to have the change scrapped.

The Faversham and Mid Kent MP urged PM Sir Keir Starmer to "think again" on the controversial measure. She added: "One of the things I've heard from people I've spoken to here is they feel they're not being listened to. Some of them feel this is a deliberate attack on them as pensioners too."