BURNHAM: Christmas comes late for 12,200 elderly people in North Wales

8.00.00pm GMT Mon 2nd Mar 2009

Eleanor Burnham, Assembly Member for North Wales has warned that Christmas bonus payments for 12,200 elderly people in North Wales to help with winter fuel bills will not be paid until nearly Easter.

According to research carried out by Liberal Democrats in Parliament, nearly one in ten older people will be getting their Christmas bonus at a time when their grandchildren are getting their Easter eggs. Parliamentary questions by Liberal Democrat MPs revealed that 8.69 percent of bonus payments - nearly one in ten - will not be made until March.

Ms. Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Communities and Equality is calling on the government to speed up payments and make sure older residents of the North Wales area get their bonus as soon as possible.

Commenting, Eleanor said, "The lateness of these payments is appalling. At a time of sky-high heating and fuel bills, paying the bonus three months late is just not good enough. This may seem like a small matter from the Chancellor's cosy office in Westminster, but for the 1455 eligible pensioners in Ynys Mon, the 1485 in the Vale of Clwyd or the 1600 in Clwyd West waiting until it is nearly Easter is just not acceptable.

"The Government must ensure that payments are made promptly next Christmas. The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, stood up in the House of Commons in November and promised pensioners a Christmas bonus on their winter fuel payments, but clearly this was nothing of the sort. It is outrageous that this money will not be reaching pensioners until so late in the year.

"National Energy Action (NEA) Cymru have told us that around 340,000 households in Wales are in fuel poverty this winter. Not only that, Help the Aged have expressed their concern about the impact the "heating or eating" dilemma will have on the increasing number of winter deaths among over-65s in Wales.

"The Government needs to act now as a matter of urgency".