A couple from North Lanarkshire who are taking the UK and Scottish Governments to court over the decision to stop universal winter fuel payments have said “if we don’t fight for pensioners, who will?”
Lawyers for Peter and Florence Fanning appeared at The Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday as the couple fight for the payment to be restored in full.
The pair say that following the decision to cut the benefit, they have been forced to spend most of their time in their living room in front of a small electric heater, as it is the warmest place in their home.
Florence said: “I can’t suffer the cold, I have problems with my joints. I can’t take the cold, sit in a cold room – I feel it everywhere. Our fuel has gone up twice in the last six months which makes it worse.”
Universal winter fuel payments for pensioners were cut by the chancellor last year in the Autumn Budget, the first by the new Labour government following the General Election in July.
Shortly afterwards, the Scottish Government also stopped the benefit.
The couple don’t meet the criteria to qualify for pension credit and decided to take action in a bid to see the benefit restored for everyone.
iStockThe universal winter fuel payment was cut last year. iStock
Peter said: “The speed at which both governments made the decision to cut the winter fuel payment is what drove me to think of people worse off than me who can’t stand up or don’t have a voice for themselves.
“To me, there’s been an onus on pensioners supporting their families. I don’t think that was considered, I don’t think the health needs of individual pensioners were considered either.”
The grounds of the legal challenge centre around the 2010 Equality Act.
Lawyers claim the failure by Government to carry out an Equality Impact Assessment with pensioners, before cutting the allowance, was a breach of their rights.
They argue that a failure to consult with pensioners is also a breach of the Human Rights Act.
Adam Stachura from Age Scotland said: “There are undoubtedly people who will lose their life as a result of living in cold homes for long period of time and the government really must justify their decision properly, otherwise by the stroke of a pen, hundreds of thousands of people lose these entitlements.”
The UK Government say they can’t comment on ongoing legal matters.
Meanwhile the Scottish Government have plans to bring in a means-tested payment, however this won’t be rolled out until next year.
That promise and the fight for the fuel justice will be back in the courts again next week.
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