The DWP has promised to review the ‘very long’ form pensioners need to fill out in order to access the £300 winter fuel allowance, amid concerns some people will be put off by the 200-plus questions
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is revisiting a complex form that pensioners have to wade through to claim the £300 Winter Fuel Allowance; there are worries it’s too convoluted, creating quite a puzzle. Set aside just for older folks on Pension Credit this year, the benefit could slip through the fingers of some due to over 200 questions they need to tackle on the application.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds admitted the form is “very long” and assured to clear any backlog of Pension Credit applications as she faced accusations of forcing older people into choosing between warming their homes or filling their stomachs. Thousands of pensioners who are eligible are not claiming the benefit, worth £3900 to the average person.
Fielding questions from MPs, Ms Reynolds told parliament: “We are looking at the form. Ninety percent of applicants now apply online but we know that the paper form is very long and we’re looking to see what we can do to simplify it.”
She was answering Labour MP David Burton-Sampson for Southend West and Leigh, who was exploring steps to streamline the pension credit claim process, by stating: “The Government remains absolutely committed to supporting pensioners. We urge pensioners to check their eligibility for pension credit to ensure as many people as possible have access to the support which they are entitled to.”
Birmingham Live reports that Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, has accused the Department for Work and Pensions of “delaying releasing any more data” on pension credit applications. She voiced her concerns, stating: “I’m concerned that the Government knows it will not be able to process these applications on time and that this information is not being put into the public domain.”
In a pointed question to the minister, she asked: “So will the minister be able to tell me exactly how many pension credit applications have been submitted since September 16, and if the backlog will be cleared before older people start having to make the choice between heating and eating? ” Responding to Ms. Olney, Ms Reynolds maintained: “I gently say to her we are not delaying the publication of statistics and there will be a new set of statistics which will be published soon.”
Earlier, the minister had stated that “the department does not have a pension credit application target,” but admitted that the Government had received around 74,400 pension credit applications during the eight weeks from the end of July to mid-September.
