One of the consequences of the recent inclement climatic conditions is that up to 5,600 pensioners in Keighley and Ilkley will miss out on Cold Weather Payments.
Nationally, up to 1.7m pensioners will be going colder than they need to.
Cold Weather Payments of £25 a week are paid to people on low incomes who receive a qualifying benefit, such as Pension Credit, which goes unclaimed by far too many pensioners.
It is a scandal that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments, worth an estimated £42.5m.
Fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold Weather Payments all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension.
The government has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need.
They should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash.
If elected for Keighley and Ilkley I shall make this issue a high priority.
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