Vince Cable

An analysis of government figures by the Liberal Democrats shows that up to 1.7 million pensioners in Britain and 1,500 in the Twickenham constituency alone (approximately 2500 in the borough) are not claiming the government's Cold Weather Payments to which they are entitled.

When temperatures are below zero for several consecutive days - as they were in early January - these payments can be made to any pensioner on pension credit. A lot of low income pensioners however do not claim the means tested pension credit because of the complex form filling involved and so they miss out on Cold Weather Payments.

Vincent Cable said: "this has been a hard winter and the weathermen say that the cold will return. Many pensioners are worried about their fuel bills because of high gas and electricity prices, poorly insulated homes and low incomes. It is scandalous that many sit at home freezing because they cannot afford to keep warm. It is even more scandalous that money, set aside to help, never gets to them because of the complexities of the means tested benefit system."