"End the national scandal of pensioner poverty"

By Tony Watts - Editor - 13/03/2007

The Government must begin to treat pensioner poverty with the same urgency as it gives to combating child poverty. That’s the demand of leading older people’s charity Help the Aged in advance of the Budget next week and the new comprehensive spending review.

The charity has laid down an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons calling on MPs to sign up to a pledge to make tackling pensioner poverty central to Government policies going forward.
 
It is also calling on the Chancellor to re-instate the £200 discount towards Council Tax bills which was awarded to older people prior to the General Election in 2005 – but which was removed the following year.

Soaring Council Tax bills and fuel and water costs have hit hard when set against small increases in the Basic State Pension and  Help the Aged is asking the Government to set a target to reduce poverty among the older population as part of the Public Service Agreement framework for departments over the coming years.
 
Mervyn Kohler, head of public affairs at Help the Aged comments: “Reducing child poverty has been a key plank of government policy over the last decade, but the work to consign pensioner poverty to the history books has not had the same force.  
 
“Early Day Motion 977 sets out a clear demand for ministers to put the battle against pensioner poverty on an equal footing.  In a country as wealthy as ours, no older person should face a choice between keeping warm in winter and eating well.  

“The more MPs who sign up to the Help the Aged pledge on pensioner poverty, the louder the clamour will be to rid us of this national scandal.”