Global Charity Announces It Will Help Vulnerable Pensioners Pay For Energy Bills This Winter After Cruel Labor Policy Strips Away Winter Fuel Payments
PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE USE
London, United Kingdom – 16 September 2024
In response to the Labour government’s decision to withdraw Winter Fuel Payments for the majority of pensioners this winter, the Institute of Research & Reforms International (IRR) and the Rehman Malik Foundation have launched a campaign to help struggling pensioners.
IRR, an organisation that has previously worked to help evacuate and resettle Afghan refugees, said the Winter Fuel Support Campaign will offer financial support to vulnerable pensioners with their energy bills.
With the support withdrawn with little warning or time to prepare, Ali Rehman Malik, Chairman of IRR and son of the late Pakistani Senator Abdul Rehman Malik who founded the IRR, said this was an ‘urgent and necessary intervention’.
He added: ‘With rising energy costs and the government’s reduction in aid, many pensioners are at risk of being unable to afford basic heating’ and that ‘this program is aimed at alleviating the financial burden that many of our pensioners face as they struggle with rising energy costs’.
After the Labour Government confirmed their policy to strip winter fuel payments for pensioners not in receipt of certain means-tested benefits would be going ahead, Ali Rehman Malik said it was their goal to make sure ‘the elderly, who have contributed so much to society, are not left vulnerable this winter.’
He also urgently called on the new Labour Government to reverse their policy, stating the changes are being brought in too quickly without giving pensioners a chance to prepare.
Ali Rehman Malik stated: ‘I hope Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will heed the urgent calls of pensioners from all around the country to immediately reverse this policy. The first winter fuel payments are paid in November, so it’s not too late to undo the worry and anxiety that many people are currently experiencing as a result of this unnecessary decision’.
As part of the campaign, IRR International and the Rehman Malik Foundation are actively seeking partnerships with local charities to help identify and reach the pensioners most in need of assistance.