Pensioners' 'eat or heat' dilemma
Help the Aged says 224,000 older people across the South West are now living below the poverty level, a figure which represents one in five of the pensioner population.
It would mean that more than 50,000 people in Devon are now living in fuel poverty, with more than ten per cent of their income being spent on bills. Of those, 8,000 are in Torbay and 9,600 are in Plymouth.
In Cornwall, the figure is more than 20,500.
Fuel bills have risen by a third, leaving people on low incomes struggling to pay. They are already feeling the squeeze because of the rising cost of food, the highest water bills in the country and a council tax system which many feel is unfairly based on the value of property.
Bernard O'Neil, spokesman for the Devon and Cornwall Pensioners' Convention, branded the situation a "national disgrace", which was further exacerbated in the Westcountry because of rural isolation and sporadic access to buses.
He said: "The people in power are oblivious to the situation older people are in. They don't seem to be getting any help from anyone."
He said some of the worst hit were those who were just over the threshold for claiming benefits and received no support.
Ann Harding, who runs Paignton Day Centre, believes the hardships are only just beginning for many pensioners, who will be badly hit by winter fuel bills.
She said it would be a "double whammy" as the supermarket price wars which keep food affordable would eventually tail off.
Help the Aged has warned that nearly 3,000 pensioners deaths in the South West each year relate to the cold, a situation the charity has branded a "scandal".
Colin Hadley, chairman of the Devon Pensioners' Action Forum – which has carried out its own research on the issue – described the situation as a "major worry".
He said the state pension was £90.70 a week, and the Government's poverty level was an income of £135.60. If pensions had stayed in line with MPs' own pay rises, the weekly payout would be £154.60.
"It's one rule for themselves and quite another for the nation's elderly," he said.
Mervyn Kohler, special adviser for Help the Aged, said: "As the costs of living continue to rise so too do the number of pensioners living in poverty.
"Today an estimated 224,000 pensioners in the South West, or 20 per cent, are living in poverty and struggling to afford essential household items.
"Older people who are finding it hard to make ends meet should find out now if they're entitled to benefits such as pension credit, council tax benefit or housing benefit."
He said around 450,000 older people in the South West are eligible for pension credit, yet just over 200,000 currently receive it.
"These vital benefits can make a huge difference to their daily lives," he said.
Both EDF Energy and South West Water said they recognised the difficulties some customers have, and had invested in helping them meet their monthly bills. Anyone struggling to pay should contact the companies.
