Labour leader Dennis Jones gives his take on cutting the Winter Fuel Payment

Watch Labour leader Dennis Jones gives his take on cutting the Winter Fuel Payment - Peterborough Telegraph on Dailymotion

Transcript

00:00Councillor Jones. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Anybody who knows me

00:06sat on a scrutiny committee with me, what do I want? Perspective, when do I want it?

00:12Now, let's just get a bit of proportion. No, this is never going to be an easy decision

00:18to defend, but let's get a bit of perspective on this, please. This policy didn't drop from

00:26outer space. It's about 14 years of abject conservative failure where 22 million pound

00:35black hole that somehow, someway we've got to fill. And we're finding that we've got

00:42to plug this gap and we've got to investigate ways how to support our economy.

00:51The decision to award the winter fuel payment to pensions receiving pension credit was difficult

00:56and nobody wanted to make it. I agree, but it was necessary. However, we welcome the

01:03government's commitment to protect the most vulnerable in our society by delivering the

01:09£150 warm home discount for low income households from this month while extending the household

01:15support fund with £421 million to ensure local authorities can support vulnerable people

01:22and families. Wasn't that long ago that I seem to remember going out to schools when

01:27the Conservatives in the winter of 2021 going out and taking food parcels out to schools

01:34and seeing teachers in tears. The government is also ensuring that 1.3 million households

01:40in England and Wales will continue to receive up to £300 in winter fuel payments. And as

01:47the leader of the council, I'm pleased with the speed and efficacy that encourage local

01:51pensioners in establishing where they're eligible for the pension credit and use our share of that

01:57£421 million to support the fund most effectively. Am I willing to sign up to everything that

02:05Councillor Rafiq has put in the motion? Absolutely. You know, we do want to see fairness but we do

02:13have to fill somehow and this is a deeply unpopular policy that we've had to make,

02:20not wanted to make. Thank you Mr. Mayor. Thank you Councillor Ernie.