Month: September 2024

“You could get Pension Credit” – Week of Action to drive take up

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to launch Pension Credit Week of Action to boost take-up of vital benefit

  • Joining forces with charities, broadcasters and a range of partners, the campaign will encourage pensioners to check their eligibility and apply
  • Up to 880,000 pensioners could be missing out on this cash boost worth on average up to £3,900 per year

Hundreds of thousands of pensioners are being urged to apply for a benefit that could be worth on average £3,900 per year as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is launching a campaign to increase Pension Credit take-up on Monday 2 September.

With as many as 880,000 pensioners missing out, the Pension Credit Week of Action aims to spread awareness and increase claims for Pension Credit, which from this year will also automatically passport eligible pensioners to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

Joining forces with charities, broadcasters, Local Authorities, and a range of partners, the campaign will tackle myths that may prevent people applying, for instance having a small private pension, savings or owning their own home.

Families, friends and neighbours are being encouraged to reach out to retired family members to encourage them to check their eligibility and apply. 21 December is the last possible date to make a successful backdated claim in order to receive the Winter Fuel Payment.

While around 1.4 million pensioners are already receiving Pension Credit, up to an estimated 880,000 households are eligible for the support but are not claiming it.

Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said: “The £22 billion blackhole inherited from the previous governments means we are having to take tough decisions now to fix the foundations of our economy – including making the Winter Fuel Payments available to those most at need.

“1.3 million pensioners are already going to get help with fuel bills this year because they’re claiming pension credit – but thousands more are eligible. So, if you know someone who could get pension credit and help with their fuel bills, now is the time to help them apply for pension credit.”

Work and Pensions Secretary, Liz Kendall said: “Thousands of pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit worth on average £3,900 per year. That needs to change.

“It’s easier than ever to check if you are eligible, including with our online calculator, and if your circumstances have changed since the last time you looked – I urge you to check again.

“Friends, families and neighbours can also encourage their loved ones to apply, so that they are not missing out on this vital benefit.”

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said: “The legacy of failure on energy policy we have inherited means energy prices are set to rise in autumn. We must ensure that pensioners in the greatest need get access to help with rising bills.

“We will do everything in our power to increase take up of Pension Credit to the 880,000 households who are yet to claim – opening the door to other vital support such as the Winter Fuel Payment.

“The government will also continue our mission to deliver clean power by 2030, helping to finally give families the energy security they deserve and our country the energy independence we need.”

Pensioners whose weekly income is below £218.15 for a single person or £332.95 for a couple should check to see if they are eligible for this support which is worth £3,900 a year on average, using DWP’s online calculator.

People with a severe disability, carers and those who are responsible for a child or young person who lives with them could get more. Pension Credit can also include extra amounts for certain housing costs, such as ground rent or service charges.

This work is part of a wider plan to ensure economic stability for pensioners by protecting the Triple Lock and supporting households with their energy bills through the £150 Warm Home Discount and the Warm Homes Plan – upgrading millions of homes this Parliament. 

Over the next five years, more than 12 million pensioners could see their State Pension increase by over a thousand pounds as a result of the commitment to the Triple Lock.

Applications for Pension Credit can be made:

  • On the How to Claim page  
  • Over the phone by calling 0800 99 1234 (Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm)  
  • By printing out and filling in a paper application form  
  • For more information visit the Pension Credit GOV.UK page. 
  • The Winter Fuel Payment is worth £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over. Households with someone aged 66-79 will receive £200.
  • We will work with Local Authorities to bring together the administration of Pension Credit and Housing Benefit as soon as operationally possible.
  • People who have reached State Pension age before September 23, 2024 and are in receipt of Pension Credit, Income Support, Income based JSA, Income related ESA, Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit or Working Tax Credit, will be entitled to a Winter Fuel Payment – subject to eligibility conditions.
  • The regulations to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment will be laid on 22 August 2024. The qualifying week in 2024 for Winter Fuel Payments will be from 16 to 22 September.
  • Pensioners need to be entitled to Pension Credit for at least one day in week September 16 to 22 to be eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment for this winter.
  • 21 December is the last date for backdating a claim for Pension Credit to 22 September, assuming the claimant met the Pension Credit entitlement conditions throughout the previous three months.
  • Anyone who is entitled to Pension Credit for at least one day of the Winter Fuel Payment qualifying week will have automatic entitlement to Winter Fuel Payment. There are some exceptions which are detailed on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment/eligibility
  • People do not have to do anything extra to backdate their claim. If they make their application online, they will automatically be asked if they would like to backdate it. If they make their application over the phone the advisor will talk them through this. 
  • Around 1.3 million households in England and Wales will continue to receive Winter Fuel Payments due to some other pensioner households being eligible and expected extra Pension Credit take up due to this reform.

Pension Credit recipients by region (as of February 2024):

North East73,883
North West175,179
Yorkshire and The Humber118,633
East Midlands95,767
West Midlands130,427
East of England110,017
London190,496
South East147,763
South West111,251
Wales80,927
Scotland125,136

Arts funding crisis: Ben Macpherson’s letter to Cabinet Secretary Shona Robison

BEN MACPHERSON writes:

For clarity and completeness, this is the full letter I sent on behalf of many affected constituents who wrote to me. The Scottish Government is very strongly committed to supporting the arts and culture and, in a constructive spirit, I hope this particular fund can be restored.

The Creative Scotland Fund for individuals has now closed.

On behalf of Out of the Blue and our studio artists we’ve written to First Minster John Swinney, MSP Ben Macpherson and Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture.

You can read the full statement below:

To Ben Macpherson, Angus Robertson & John Swinney: 

Out of the Blue is an arts and education social enterprise that provides studio space to over 200 artists in four buildings across Edinburgh. We have been working with artists and arts organisations for thirty years.

Throughout that time we have been witness, time and again, to the vital contribution they make to communities. Artists produce inspiring work and bring creative opportunities to many people, improving the quality of life in cities, towns and rural areas. Economically, artists, arts organisations and creative enterprises contribute more than £5 billion to the Scottish economy every year. 

However, in working with artists we are constantly reminded of the precarious position in which so many are trying to create new work. Working from project to project, uncertain of how much income they will make from month to month, struggling to find and rent space in which to create.

Yet despite this, our artists remain committed to creating art, and to enriching lives. Artists have always created more value for Scotland than what it has cost Scotland to support them. The least we can do is to treat artists with the same dignity and respect that is afforded to other workers. In a country committed to fair work, this should go without saying. 

Cutting grants to individual artists will have a major impact on their ability to make a living and decimate the plethora of creative projects they undertake individually and with others. Without access to Creative Scotland grants many artists will not be able to continue with their creative practice, which in turn will have a huge impact on the organisations, communities and individuals they work with. 

With local Government spending on the arts also decreasing rapidly we are facing a tipping point. The devastation that this lack of funding will cause to the cultural sector in Scotland may take a generation to recover from. Pursuing a career as an artist will be for the few, not the many, and the lives of every person in Scotland will be poorer because of it. 

We call on you to urgently release the outstanding funding to Creative Scotland and set out a clear timeframe by which you will deliver your commitment to increase funding for culture by £100 million. Each day you delay, more artists will abandon hope and with it their careers. 

Regards 

Rob Hoon – Out of the Blue CEO 

Professor David Stevenson – Chair, Out of the Blue Board

And signed by the following Out of the Blue studio artists: 

Ailis Mundin (Strange Town) 

Alison McConachie 

Ally Hill (The Bongo Club) 

Andres Perez (Urban Works) 

Aoife O’Callaghan 

Beck Elphinstone 

Bethany Thompson (Out of the Blueprint) 

Blyth Mackenzie (Little Yellow Scribbles) 

Bob Giulianotti (Out of the Blue and Strange Town Youth Theatre)

Calum Duncan (Calum Duncan Architects) 

Cameron Murdoch (Cam Life Designs) 

Caroline Grevers 

Casey Campbell 

Catherine Lazcano – Thornton (Catherine Giselle) 

Clare Duffy (Civic Digits) 

Cosimo Damiano Angiulli 

Daisy Crooke (Take One Action Film Festival) 

Daniel Murray (Daniel Murray Artist) 

Dee Thangden 

Duncan Jones (Knockwood Studios) 

Elaine Wilson 

Felicity Inkpen 

Fiona Fraser (Fi Fraser Production Management) 

Frances Priest 

Francesca Grech 

Graeme Walker 

Helen Miles (Helen Miles Mosaics) 

Holly Summerson 

Ian Gonczarow 

Jen Byrne 

Jennifer Paterson (All or Nothing) 

Johnny Gailey (Out of the Blueprint) 

Jolon Yeoman (Knockwood Studios) 

Judy Clark 

Julija Pustovrh (Emporium Julium Ceramics) 

Kate Livingstone 

Kelly Zou 

Kuluna Yoga 

Leanne Bell Gonczarow 

Leigh Robieson-Cleaver (Curious Seed)

Louise Lacaille 

Mairi MacSween (Mairi MacSween Designs) Mark Whyles (Mark Whyles Management) Matthew Shepherd 

Max Machen 

Meg Buick 

Megan Chapman 

Nicole Lambeng (Out of the Blue) Pierre Forissier (Biomorphis) 

Pippa Lobban 

Rabiya Choudray 

Remode Collective 

Robin Paine 

Sandy Lobban 

Sheena Walker (The Clarsach Society) Snap Elastic 

Solen Collet (Solen Collet Photography) Steve Small (Strange Town) 

Susan Scarth 

Tim Licata 

Trista Yen 

Wendy Ball