Last week at Kent County Council we launched our Just Missing Out scheme to help pensioners affected by rising living costs and the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel allowance. This builds on our work over recent years supporting residents through our Financial Hardship Programme.
The Chancellor announced in the summer the withdrawal of Winter Fuel Payment from all older people except those in receipt of Pension Credit. In response, we have already got under way a campaign, along with many of our partners, to spread the word about Pension Credit and boost takeup. There are an estimated 18,000 households in Kent who are eligible for Pension Credit but not claiming it. Getting access to that can unlock a number of other entitlements, including Winter Fuel Payment. We continue to push this campaign, especially since the deadline for applying for and backdating this year’s Winter Fuel Payment is approaching (21 December).
The problem is that this initiative, important as it is, cannot help the ‘Just Missing Out’ group of pensioners who are not on high incomes but are above the eligibility level for Pension Credit. We have therefore allocated for this group £1m out of the £11m that we were allocated in the latest round of the Household Support Find (a scheme set up under the previous government and continued by the new administration). Under this scheme, which went live on 28 November, we will be providing £200 vouchers which can be redeemed for food, energy or both. This will be available to households with annual incomes ranging from £11,383.80 (single households) or £17,713.40 (couples) to £40,000.
The application link can be found on our website.
In recent years, KCC has provided extensive support to residents through our Financial Hardship Programme, which aims both at immediate help and building a lasting legacy of enhancing financial resilience. The programme has meant the distribution of 48,000 food and fuel vouchers to help with household bills, 5,000 laptops being supplied to people without access to technology, 150 children are now in their own beds, rather than sharing with siblings or sleeping on sofas, and more than 2,600 people are not dealing with their debt on their own.
Our Cabinet meeting last week both launched this new scheme for pensioners and reviewed the achievements of the Financial Hardship Programme while planning for its future.
You can find our media release about the scheme, and our Cabinet meeting here.
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