Stephen Morgan MP used departmental questions to ask the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Work and Pensions what actions her Government is taking to tackle the continued financial hardships that pensioners in Portsmouth and across the country are facing.
It comes as recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation revealed that an additional 200,000 pensioners were pushed into poverty last year. That is well over two million pensioners living below the poverty line and struggling to pay their bills – over 400,000 pensioners into poverty than when Labour left office.
A National Energy Action poll revealed that pensioners have been disproportionately impacted by the cost-of-living crisis and soaring energy costs, with one in five over-65s going to bed earlier than usual for warmth, while 1.8million older people turned off their heating completely this winter to save money.
Standing up for pensioners in Portsmouth, Stephen Morgan MP asked:
Pensioner poverty is on the rise, with an additional 200,000 people of pension age being pushed into poverty last year.
What hope can the Minister give pensioners in Portsmouth that they will not have to choose between eating and heating their homes this winter?
With more and more pensioners being forced to choose between eating and heating their homes, the Government is failing to deliver help for pensioners who are struggling.
Commenting MP Stephen Morgan said:
“This Government have continuously let down low-income Portsmouth pensioners who are disproportionately impacted by financial hardship and in urgent need of support.
Instead of offering solutions, Ministers have failed to drive the uptake of pension credit, repeatedly refused to be clear about the future of the state pension and offered pensioners no credible sign that they can fix the problem they have created.
Labour will end this scandal and guarantee older people in our city the respect, security and prosperity they deserve”.
Mr Morgan will continue to stand up for Portsmouth pensioners, having recently met with the Portsmouth Pensioner’s Association to hear their priorities for the year ahead, and working closely with Solent WASPI to raise awareness of the women against state pension inequality campaign.
You can view Mr Morgan’s question and the Minister’s answer here.
