Up to 6,000 Pensioners in Derby will miss out on Cold Weather Payments

11.02.41am GMT Mon 25th Jan 2010

Up to 6,000 pensioners in Derby will miss out on Cold Weather Payments triggered by the recent weather, according to analysis of Government figures by the Liberal Democrats.

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 as many as 1.7m pensioners nationally and by up to 6,135 in Derby North and South.

Cllr Lucy Care, Lib Dem parliamentary spokesperson for Derby North, said "It is a scandal that pensioners on the breadline are missing out on these payments.

Fuel prices are at an all time high, making Cold Weather Payments all the more important to people already struggling on a poverty pension.

Lucy continued "Labour has failed pensioners by creating a complicated system that makes it difficult for them to get the help they desperately need.

"The Government should be making every effort to identify pensioners who are missing out and get them this extra cash."