17-11-04

Pensioners deserve a better deal – Barrett

John Barrett, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, today confronted the Minister for Pensions over the raw deal that pensioners in Edinburgh and throughout the UK are getting from the Government.
 
Mr Barrett made the move during his special parliamentary debate on ‘Pensioner Poverty in West Edinburgh’.  He used the debate to highlight a series of Government failures that were causing major problems for pensioners in his constituency, including:

• the failure of the Government’s mass means testing of pensioners, which has been hampered by low take-up rates and condemned by many pensioners as insulting and degrading;

• the failure to provide an adequate state pension, which Mr Barrett argued was the only guaranteed way of getting more money to the poorest pensioners;

• the failure to tackle pensioner poverty amongst women because of the outdated pensions system that is based on national insurance contributions and has left 70% of women pensioners receiving less than the full state pension;

• the failure to increase take-up rates of council tax benefit amongst pensioners (currently around 70%);

• the failure to give disabled pensioners help with their mobility costs by keeping the outdated law that forbids people over 65 getting disability living allowance.

Speaking during the debate, Mr Barrett said:
 
“One of the true measures of a decent, fair and free soceity is how it treats is older citizens.  One of the most important social issues facing any Government is ensuring older people can, after a lifetime of contribution to their country, retire with dignity and free from poverty.
 
“There remains too many pensioners who are not enjoying the standard of living they should expect.  The Government’s attitude has mustered a feeling of injustice and of unfairness amongst the pensioners I represent.  These people deserve a fairer deal.”
 
Mr Barrett also praised the Scottish Executive for promising a review into Local Government Finance.  He added:

“Council Tax remains one of the most regressive and unfair taxes in the country.  Pensioners in my constituency are spending a huge chunk of their pension on Council Tax, money they should be spending on heat for their homes and food for their meals.
 
“Liberal Democrats in Scotland will be arguing strongly for council tax to be abolished and a new fairer local income tax introduced.”

ENDS