GOVERNMENT measures to help old people pay for extra heating in cold weather have been condemned as inadequate by Burnley MP Peter Pike.

He said: "This is not the best way to help pensioners. They need a fair pension increase."

Mr Pike is unhappy at what he considers to be grossly inadequate measures which often lead pensioners and others on benefit keeping the heating turned off in extreme cold for fear that they will not get the payments or the payments are not adequate.

And he said that the VAT on domestic fuel should be reduced to five per cent from eight per cent.

Junior Minister Roger Evans said the government had maintained the level of the basic pension in line with inflation and ran regular campaigns on the "Keep Warm/Keep Well" theory.

The government, he added, had given a great deal of extra help with fuel bills to pensioners through the income support and benefits system.

There were one-off cold weather payments solely intended to help the most vulnerable.

These payments were made automatically to people on income support, pensioner or disability premium, or with a child aged under five in their family when the average temperature is or is forecast to be below freezing for any seven-day period.

Mr Evans said he appreciated the disappointment of those who failed to qualify because they were just above the income support level, but a dividing line must be drawn somewhere.

Mr Evans said: "Extending eligibility to all sick, disabled or elderly people, regardless of their weekly income, would not be consistent with the government's overall policy of making effective use of available resources by focusing extra help on those who need it most."

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