Reactions to winter gasoline fee U-turn | EUROtoday

More than three-quarters of pensioners will obtain the winter gasoline fee this yr after a serious coverage U-turn.

The resolution from Chancellor Rachel Reeves means 9 million pensioners in England and Wales with an annual revenue of £35,000 or much less will now be eligible.

People have spoken to us or contacted the BBC by Your Voice, Your BBC News about how the change of plan will have an effect on them.

Bob Pritchard, 78, from Bath, instructed the BBC he earns £19,500 a yr and believes he’ll now have his allowance reinstated.

“It will make a lot of difference. I’ve got various health issues and have to travel to hospital by taxi. I can’t really afford to do it. The winter fuel payment was more or less taken away without warning,” he stated,

Despite being glad concerning the authorities’s U-turn, Bob believes he ought to be compensated for the way he struggled when his winter gasoline fee was taken away final yr.

“The least they could do is offer some small compensation for all the grief and heartache that the initial decision to stop winter fuel payments has caused,” he stated.

Alice George, 71, from Watford says she is “appalled” by Reeves’ resolution and provides her personal winter gasoline fee to charity.

“I know people who put the money towards a holiday,” she stated.

“I constantly meet pensioners who live very comfortably. I go to the cinema and the theatre regularly and they are packed with my ilk, most of whom don’t need this money.”

Alice thinks its unfair that some younger individuals incomes lower than £30,000 are anticipated to pay what she calls “extortionate rent and travel expenses”.

She thinks the winter gasoline fee cash ought to be put in the direction of the NHS or tackling the housing disaster.

Ian Bryant, from Nailsworth in Gloucestershire, is happy with the federal government’s resolution.

He earns greater than £35,000 as a pensioner so is not going to be receiving the fee himself however is glad for the others who will.

“It wasn’t ideal when the payment was removed last year, as it impacted on many of those on the lowest income although I understand why it was done. A more considered approach would have been better,” he stated.

“I’m 68 and still have a mortgage. I go away a couple of times a year – nothing five star – have an old car, but manage fine. I’m more than happy not to receive the payment.”

Gail Impey, 71, a finance supervisor from Buckinghamshire, will miss out on the fee as her revenue is simply over £35,000.

She stated she struggled final yr when her winter gasoline fee was taken away.

“I turned off all the heating and used all my saved up logs in my log burner,” she stated.

Gail’s husband died in 2021, which meant she may now not retire as she stated she couldn’t afford to cease working.

“Luckily at 71 I am fit enough to work but I do not have a good quality of life. It’s just me and the dog. Everything is so expensive, I have to make every penny count,” she stated.

She added: “I earn just over the threshold but I’m taxed on that. I have paid in all my life and it seems I am missing out again. This is not fair and being on my own I have to work harder than ever.”

Mike Hodges, 72, says he didn’t miss the winter gasoline fee when he stopped receiving it.

He says his revenue is above the £35,000 threshold however under £40,000.

“The threshold could be a lot lower so money can be spent on much more pressing priorities.”

He thinks the cash spent on the gasoline funds ought to go to initiatives for youthful individuals as an alternative.

Additional reporting by Kris Bramwell and Alex Emery

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