In my last Newsletter, we were waiting with bated breath for the date of the next election. It has come and gone and we are certainly feeling the presence of the new Labour administration.
Government kept to its word and stuck to the triple lock but boy are we paying for it, at least those of us not on Pension Credit. Why is it always so that whoever gets elected I never feel any better off?
Many years ago, I worked for the Editor of the Bedfordshire Times and at this time of the year when Parliament was in recession, it was called “the silly season” meaning there was not much in the way of news. The staff were paid lineage for taking in a story. I was paid 10 shillings for telling them about my uncle’s cactus which had knocked the roof off the greenhouse because it had grown so tall. It made a good picture.
Those were the days! We have certainly got more news than we can handle now!
Romy Neeves – Editor
Chair’s report – John Abington
Since the group June Newsletter, we have a new government, and so new challenges for the CSPA, not least of which has been the Chancellor’s announcement of the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) unless an individual is in receipt of Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Income Related and Support Allowance (ESA),
Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance (JSA), or Income Support. I have already received an email from one of our group members who is extremely concerned, because his total income sits just one above the cut-off point for pension credit, and he has in the past been reliant on the WFP for meeting his energy costs during the winter. Please note that energy bills are scheduled to rise by 9% from October. The CSPA AGM is on 9th and 10th October, and we are permitted to submit Emergency Motions for debate at the AGM until 4th October. If you feel strongly about this issue and wish the Executive of the CSPA to pursue this matter, as I’m sure they will, then please do feel free to submit a Motion to me by the end of September at the latest, and I will do my best to have a Motion on the topic included. My contact details are at the end of this Newsletter. We will now await further development in the Autumn Budget statement. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading our quarterly group newsletter, and thanks to those who have taken the time to reply to our editor Romy Neeves with complimentary reviews.
Crime
Following on from my June Newsletter when I urged people to keep their parking tickets for a while as evidence of payment, I now read that drivers are being urged to avoid scanning QR codes to pay for parking following a spate of scams.
The RAC advised motorists to make payments only with cash, cards or official apps.
In recent weeks there have been incidents of fraudsters placing stickers featuring QR codes on parking signs in locations as far and wide as London and Northumberland. Drivers who scan the codes with their phones are shown fraudulent websites asking them to enter their card details, which criminals use to spend money from their accounts.
A QR (quick response) code is a barcode which enables people to get rapid access to a website or download a link by scanning it with their phone camera. RAC head of policy said, “The increasing popularity and ease of using QR codes appears to have made drivers more vulnerable to malicious scammers.”
Electric scooters
The Australian city of Melbourne has banned rental electric scooters after a public backlash and fears of safety risks. The city first permitted the scooters in February 2022 on a two-year trial basis, but after hundreds of accidents and complaints from the public, councillors have voted to ban them.
I was driving home the other evening still in the light. Approaching a roundabout, I noticed a young girl riding one of these scooters I saw that she was looking exceedingly unlikely to slow up or stop, which she was obliged to do. She sort of indicated that she was sorry but continued anyway. As soon as she had completed her manoeuvre, she stopped and I saw to my horror that not only was she holding two shopping bags, but there was also a very young child standing between her legs. Had I not had a car right on my tail I would have stopped to point out that there was a danger of death in her activity.
Apparently, city scooters are no longer making a profit and are likely to be withdrawn.
Electric scooters are against the law in certain circumstances and need to be banned.
Group Circulars
No. 960 – Change to winter fuel payments. Chancellor Rachel Reeves addressed the House of Commons in July outlining the Treasury’s spending review findings and setting out several ways in which the new Government plans to address the “black hole” left in public finances by the estimated £22 billion pound overspend of the previous Government. Winter Fuel Payments, which have in recent years been paid to all pensioners’ tax-free, are to be restricted to those on Pension Credit and certain other benefits only this year.
News articles have been posted on the CSPA website in this regard as follows:
1. The Chancellor is restricting the Winter Fuel Payment – CSPA
2. LLA concerned by means tested winter fuel payments – CSPA
3. Up to 2 million pensioners will struggle without winter fuel help – CSPA
At a glance, savings the Chancellor aims to make from the cuts.
Abandoning social care cap: £1.08bn A proposed limit on the amount that elderly people must pay for their care will no longer come in next year.
Ending Rwanda policy: £1.4bn The UK will not pay Rwanda to take the asylum seekers who arrive in Britain in small boats over the Channel.
Scrapping transport infrastructure scheme: £785m. The A303 tunnel under Stonehenge and A27 upgrades will be cancelled, as will a plan to reopen branch railway lines.
Cancelling A-levels overhaul: £185m. Rishi Sunak’s proposal to introduce a new “advanced British standard” to replace A-levels will not go ahead.
Efficiency savings: £3.15bn Government departments will have to cut their administration and communications costs, and end use of “non-essential” external consultants.
Review of 40 new hospitals. Unknown. Boris Johnson’s “new hospitals programme” to build 40 hospitals by 2030 is under review and may never happen, although there will be investment in NHS facilities.
So, we would urge all members to read the information on the website and to join with the other agencies by signing the petition in protest.
Etias – How to get the new visa waver for EU travel.
Travellers will need to apply online or via a yet-to-launch mobile app. According to the Home Office, they will be asked to provide Personal information including your name, date and place of birth, sex, nationalities, home address, email address and phone numbers.
Details will be checked against EU systems for borders and security. Officials say most applications will be approved in minutes, although the process could take up to 96 hours.
The £7 fee will apply to travellers aged 18 to 70 and will be free for those younger or older, although they will need to apply. Air and Sea carriers will be required to verify electronically that travellers hold a valid Etias 48 hours before departure.
Consumer
Octopus Energy is extending its support for pensioners after the Government cut the winter-fuel payments for millions.
The energy supplier said it would continue its £30m assistance fund into this winter and customers who are pensioners and who do not meet the new criteria for receiving state support would be eligible.
Thousands of discretionary credits of £50, £100 and £200 will be available to those who apply.
The Chancellor announced in July that the winter fuel allowance will be axed for all except the poorest pensioners.
The change means that the benefit, whose payments are worth up to £300 a year, is now only for pensioners eligible for pension credit, among the lowest-income households.
The founder of Octopus Energy Group was quoted as saying that “at times like this we cannot expect the Government to do everything – companies need to work hard on affordability too. There is a lot of government and other support for pensioners, but many don’t realise it – government data show that one in three pensioners eligible for pension credit are not claiming it, so we are training our team to help with this too.”
Consumer Group Which? said, “If you’re worried about affording your bills this winter, don’t suffer in silence. Speak to your energy company – under Ofgem’s rules, suppliers must offer payment plans you can afford.”
Former pensions minister Baroness Altmann said the removal of the winter fuel payments was equivalent to a 3 per cent cut for those on the basis state pension. She added: “The shock announcement that the Government wants to axe the winter fuel payment for 10 million pensioners is a real body blow.”
If anyone has a good news story about Octopus Energy, please let me know.
People – Lucy Mangan, a columnist for my daily paper, wrote an article which caught my eye, titled “Our parents are the last competent generation” in which she suggests we start asking older people for Life (and defrosting the freezer) advice. She starts with a tale of the life of her mother’s whirligig clothesline and how her mother (aged 80) plans washday, only starting the process after checking the weather forecast, triangulating via the app the daily newspaper report and the evening news, like a Swat team synchronising watches. Lucy admits this is an extreme example, but points to a wider general truth that her parents are better at life than her generation is or are ever likely to be. They are just better: more skilled, more disciplined, more farsighted, more practical, more sensible, less lazy, more self-sufficient – more of everything good, less of everything bad.
She argues that while life itself might not be more difficult, it is more difficult to organise. There is virtually no such thing as regular nine to five jobs, most people don’t know what time they’ll be home and when they are home, they are still connected to the office by email, messages and bosses with no boundaries. It is generally no longer possible to have one parent stay at home with children and earn nothing. If you want a family and a house big enough to put them in, two incomes are vital.
She brings up the matter of The Internet, that pernicious little invention which takes our natural inclination towards the path of least resistance, and she runs with it – largely towards obesity and cardiovascular disease, as we signed up for Deliveroo, call Ubers, book handymen, and generally outsource everything, until we can no longer do anything for ourselves, from cooking a meal to sewing on a button. She says we are perpetual children now, and that perhaps we voted Labour because we know that the nanny state is exactly what we need if we are to survive.
Obituary
Sadly, we lost our member Terry Darlow recently. John Abington attended his funeral and discovered that Terry had led an interesting life. He’ll bring the order of service to the meeting for those interested.
Coincidently, my neighbour had lent me a self-published book entitled “My neck of the woods. A childhood in Bedford’s Black Tom by Violet Tompkins. The book was a fascinating read, although perhaps only to Bedfordians, and those still living in the area which has largely escaped the bulldozer for less interesting dwellings. The Victorian houses are ideal for first-time buyers and are snapped up for a tidy sum, not only because they are near the train and bus stations and close to the beautiful Victorian park the local swimming pool, but because they have been much better constructed.
What has this got to do with Terry Darlow? In the acknowledgements Terry was given credit for the loan of the photographs! What a pity he is not still with us!
Jokes of the Fringe
1. I’ve been taking dancing lessons formonths, but I just don’t feel like I’m progressing. It’s just one step forward…two steps back – Alec Snook
2. Ate horse at a restaurant once – wasn’t great. Starter was all right, but the mane was dreadful – Alex Kitson
3. Isailed through my driving test.That’s why I failed it – Arthur Smith
4. I love the Olympics. My friend and I invented a new type of relay baton: well, he came up with the idea, I ran with it – Mark Simmons
5. My dad used to say to me “Pints, gallons, litres”, which I think, speaks volumes – Olaf Falafel
6. I wanted to know which came first the chicken or the egg, so I bought a chicken and then I bought an egg, and I think I’ve cracked it. – Masai Graham
Romy Neeves – Editor
Chair: John Abington, 4 Duckmill Crescent, MK42 0AE. Tel 07954 129749 johnabington1582@gmail.com
Treasurer: Sue Walsh, The Old Rectory, Houghton Conquest MK45 3LD SueWalsh44@me.com
Secretary and Editor: Romy Neeves, 31 Turner Way, Bedford MK41 7ND raneeves@gmail.com
Committee: John McLaughlin, 64, Middlesex Drive, Bletchley MK3 7EU johnmclaughlinQPR@gmail.com
Janet JEFFERIES, 6 Tamar Road, Bedford MK41 7EE. Janetm.jefferies@virginmedia
Chris L Williams, 10 Rhuddlan Close, Shenley Church End, Milton Keynes MK5 6EL chrislw9@outlook.com. Tel. 01 908 503717 preferred
Sidney Miller, 33a Bushmead Avenue, Bedford MK40 3QH sjmiller@tiscali.co.uk Steve Lewis Steveandrea1066@yahoo.co.uk
