Torbay MP Adrian Sanders has been calling on Rosie Winterton, Minister for Pensions, to provide a better deal for Torbay pensioners. With somewhere between 20% and 40% of pensioners living below the poverty line, thousands of Torbay residents are being hit hard by the recession with no help from the Government.
Rosie Winterton claimed that: "the average pensioner household will be £1,600 a year (£31 a week) better off in 2008/9 than in 1997 due to our tax and benefit changes."
However, the OECD has showed that fuel bills rose by 12% in the last year alone, with food prices rocketing by over 18% in the same time. Increases in the basic state pension have failed to keep pace with the cost of living, forcing pensioners to make difficult decisions on what necessities to go without.
Adrian said: "The Government is putting its head in the sand over pensioner poverty. As a society we need to ensure that no one, especially vulnerable individuals, lives below the poverty line."
"Although the Government has provided some well received add-ons such as free swimming and free bus travel, at root this is a patronising dodge of the real issue. If pensioners had a reasonable income, they would not need these hand outs. This is why I am campaigning for the Government to recognise the contribution pensioners have made to our society and provide them with a guaranteed income above the poverty line."
The Minister's response to Adrian's questions comes as Age Concern and Help the Aged announced today that research has revealed a deteriorating standard of living for older people.
The Devon Pensioners' Action Forum has also called for the basic pension level to be raised to the poverty line, currently at £165 a week for a single person.
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