Conditions at Wandsworth!

[Silver Tabby]

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/appalling-conditions-at-hmp-wandsworth-following-failures-at-every-level-13191290

This government can afford to spen 100m on murders, rapists and the like - but cannot afford to pay pensioners their winter fuel allownance? 

Someone need to check their priorities!

[Diasi]

[Cassandra]

Sorry to be so dumb here, but how does the Chancellor retain the £200 allowance as she's too young to qualify I would have thought?

[klondike]

MPs apparently get their heating bills for their second job related home paid for on expenses.

[Cassandra]

A moot point I propose, which conflates two separate arguments?

According to Reuters UK:

Britain's new Finance minister Rachel Reeves does not have a 3,400-pound ($4,357) heating allowance, contrary to widely shared suggestions on social media.
The claims came after Reeves, the UK's new chancellor of the exchequer, announced plans to reform a payment given to pensioners each year to help them with energy costs.

The posts, showing a photograph of an elderly woman alongside a photograph of Reeves, say: "The person on the left has had her 500 pound winter fuel allowance taken away from her by the person on the right who still has her 3400 pound MPs heating allowance."

The claim was widely shared on Facebook.

However, a spokesperson for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA), which regulates and administers British lawmakers' expenses, said in an email that members of parliament (MPs) do not have a 3,400-pound allowance for heating.

"MPs can claim for energy costs for their constituency office, as well as their residential accommodation (if they represent a non-London constituency)," the spokesperson added.

"They cannot claim for utility bills on their private homes. Whilst there is no specific upper limit on energy claims for constituency offices and residential accommodation, MPs do have an overall budget cap they must stick to for office costs (36,550 pounds in London and 33,020 pounds elsewhere) and accommodation (29,290 pounds in London and 19,940 pounds elsewhere)."

Reeves was appointed chancellor of the exchequer on July 5, allowing her to live at 11, Downing Street. Living here would mean she cannot claim IPSA-funded accommodation and its associated energy costs, the spokesperson added ...

For utilities, Reeves claimed 1,269 pounds for her accommodation and 1,460 pounds for her constituency office in 2023-24, . The total, 2,729 pounds, is less than the 3,400-pound figure in the social media claim.

On July 29, 2024, Reeves said millions of British pensioners would lose the winter fuel payment - which was worth up to 600 pounds last winter - unless they received other benefits such as pension credit.

The government in February 2024 said that 1.4 million pensioners receive pension credit. There are 880,000 households eligible for the allowance that do not claim it.
In 2022, 11.5 million winter fuel allowance payments were made, according to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

The Facebook posts are therefor Misleading. Reeves does not have a 3,400-pound heating allowance. Her overall accommodation budget is between 20,000 and 30,000 pounds, which includes utilities, but she would lose this upon moving to 11, Downing Street.

Source:  Reuters Fact Check team , correlation Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

Personally I detest the pompous, gangling harpy and wish her career an early and rotten ending, but sometimes in the interests of the truth a good story must be appraised more closely ...
      

[klondike]

The only thing I'd ask is how much does she personally pay for heating her living space in Number 11.

I'd also add that the cartoon doesn't mention £3,400 anywhere. Maybe claims on Facebook do but I don't look at Facebook myself.

[JBR]

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/appalling-conditions-at-hmp-wandsworth-following-failures-at-every-level-13191290

This government can afford to spen 100m on murders, rapists and the like - but cannot afford to pay pensioners their winter fuel allownance? 

Considering the continually increasing advent of thousands of illegal immigrants, which the government in their wisdom have decided to present with money, housing, free healthcare, police protection and God knows what else, I am not in the least surprised that our own old people are to lose their winter fuel allowances.

Attempting to compare the former outlays with the latter allowances, I think that I can confidently state that yet more losses are soon to become due to us, the white British people now the second-class citizens of Broken Britain.

I wonder, did anyone here vote for Labour this time?  😏  No, don't answer that!

[Cassandra]

The only thing I'd ask is how much does she personally pay for heating her living space in Number 11.

I'd also add that the cartoon doesn't mention £3,400 anywhere. Maybe claims on Facebook do but I don't look at Facebook myself.

I'd guess she pays nothing, but I'll inquire under the FOI act, in case it demonstrates 'tiering'?

You'd be surprised how many amatueur 'Boyd QC's' etc included 'Facebook' references as if they were unquestionable verbatim facts' in their 'discovery' content. Or they'd gawp in amazement, rolling their eyes from the dock when advised such content was just 'heresay' and I instructed the jury (if applicable) to strike it from their minds ...

Some had the cheek to then question me as the Judge, on my legality in pointing this out!

[Diasi]

I have to agree that incorrect facts should be avoided, but I also have to say that I'm less concerned  about incorrect facts than I am about why an MP should get an energy allowance for any premises other than their constituency office.

[klondike]

Not just an allowance. 
The whole bill gets paid on expenses. No sitting shivering in outddoor clothes with the thermostat down at Diasi, freeze your nuts off levels for the great and good.

[Ashy]

Sorry to be so dumb here, but how does the Chancellor retain the £200 allowance as she's too young to qualify I would have thought?

MPs get £3400 heating allowance. 

[Scrumpy]

Whatever it is they get for 'Free' is far too much..

[muddy]

Why don't that just have a hotel in London and stuff all the MPs in it while they are attending Parliament 
They don't need second separate residencies surely ? 

[klondike]

Now that indeed is an excellent suggestion. It would need to be big. 
How many berths in the Bibby Stockholme?

[Diasi]

Sorry to be so dumb here, but how does the Chancellor retain the £200 allowance as she's too young to qualify I would have thought?

Now now, naughty naughty, as a lawyer you know full well that they got round it by calling it an Energy Allowance & not a Winter Fuel Allowance.

Lol