Salford’s mayor doesn’t claim to have a crystal ball – but somehow he seemed to see the saga over winter fuel payments coming.
Earlier this year – several months before the new Labour government announced it would take the allowance away from millions of pensioners – Paul Dennett was unknowingly preparing for the move. In fact, the mayor decided to put around £400,000 towards it.
The universal payment for pensioners, introduced by the last Labour government in 1997, is set to be scrapped this winter with only those claiming Pension Credit – or certain other benefits – set to receive the up-to-£300 on offer. Announcing the decision in July, Chancellor Rachel Reeves promised to help more people claim Pension Credit revealing 800,000 eligible pensioners currently do not.
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Salford council was ahead of the game, however, having decided in February to invest £400,000 over three years into helping more pensioners claim benefits they are entitled to. So far, pensioners in Salford have claimed an extra £1.6m, including in Pension Credits.
But despite being more prepared than most for the imminent cuts to pensioners’ incomes, the mayor is still concerned about the move. He has been lobbying MPs who represent each part of the city, explaining why he is worried about the impact of the decision.
And it appears some share his concerns. When a vote took place in Parliament last month, Salford MP Rebecca Long Bailey, who currently faces a suspension from Labour for rebelling on another vote, actively abstained from backing the controversial move.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mr Dennett said he fears many pensioners ‘pride themselves’ on not claiming the benefits they are entitled to. And he says that those who do apply are faced with a ‘cumbersome and complex’ application process.
He has a solution though. The Labour mayor believes pensioners who are eligible for the payment should be automatically enrolled.
He said: “I don’t know how feasible or possible this is, but to me, given that we have all this tax data and all this pension data, surely we know who is entitled to pension credits. So why don’t we just auto-enrol them?
“I’ve posited that idea, I’ve shared it with our members of Parliament, I’ve shared that with the [council] leaders and mayor [Andy] Burnham. That just seems like a logical way forward.
“Auto-enrol those who are entitled to Pension Credits. We’ll make sure that those that are the least well-off in society get access to winter fuel payments, and also, it will probably save us significant sums of money on the elaborate bureaucracy around the administration of Pension Credits.
“Maybe I’m just too simple in how I think about things. We’ve put it into the mix as an idea and we’ll continue to lobby and influence in that space.”
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) says that it is not currently possible to accurately identify people who may be entitled to Pension Credit just from DWP data. Like all means-tested benefits, a person’s eligibility for Pension Credit and the amount they are entitled to depends on their financial and personal household circumstances, which are often ‘complex’, according to the department.
Mr Dennett says that he understands why the government has decided to cut the allowance, citing the £22bn black hole in the public finances which the Chancellor said was the reason. But he is still ‘really worried’ that too many people will not apply for Pension Credit.
He said: “Within a context of scarcity – and boy do we know that in local government after 14 years of cuts – do I think millionaires should be receiving the winter fuel payments right now? Probably not.
“Yes, I am committed and I like the idea of universalism. It feels right for me.
“But at this point in time, on winter fuel payments, do I think millionaires should be receiving it? Probably not.”
He added: “We think we’ve got about 3,700 people [in Salford] who are entitled to Pension Credits who aren’t currently claiming. We’ve written out to people – directly from myself – already, asking them to get in contact with welfare rights and debt advice if they can’t go through the application process itself because we think they’re entitled to it. That’s using our own datasets.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “To ensure Pension Credit is accessible for all, applications can be made online at gov.uk, over the phone, or via a paper application form. For anyone concerned about the paper application process, we would recommend they either claim online – the service is available 24/7 every day of the year and can be completed with a friend or relative – or by telephone where the caller is guided through the claim process.
“Our drive to boost Pension Credit take up has already seen a 152 per cent increase in claims and we will continue to raise awareness of the benefit so every eligible pensioners gets the financial support to which they are entitled.”
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