Skip to main content

Clegg misses the point about pensioner benefits

Nick Clegg has set his eyes on major reform. A defining moment for Liberal Democrat politics; removal of free bus passes and TV licenses from 'wealthy' pensioners. So now we know what the Liberal Democrats stand for. I expect it will include the automatic fuel allowance. Is this really what Liberal Democrats have been in politics for? And do they not understand why some benefits are universal?

It may appear unfair that rich and poor alike can receive the same benefits. But there is a good reason to give some benefits in this way. Targeting involves means testing and it involves setting thresholds. Thresholds can create a worst kind of unfairness; those just above, those just at the margin, losing the benefit. Two elderly neighbours one receiving and the other not, all for the sake of being a penny above the threshold; one neighbour now 'richer' the other now 'poorer'. But there is something more worrying about means testing. Many elderly people tend not to apply for benefits even when they qualify and deserve them.  Each year, a staggering £5.5 bn of benefits that pensioners are entitled to go unclaimed.

Four million pensioners are entitled to pension credit, yet a third of them are not claiming it. This means they may be missing out on hundreds or even thousands of pounds of benefit they are entitled to, and yet Mr Clegg chooses to focus on bus passes and TV licenses. What kind of priority is it? 

The Liberal Party had a proud history since they introduced state pensions in the UK at the beginning of the 20th Century.  Now Mr Clegg wants to define them by taking away bus passes and TV licenses.

Comments

  1. What kind of priority is it?
    The priority of a man who has lost his way. He knows his party has made a huge mistake. He thought he would stand alongside Cameron as a joint leader but instead he finds himself marginalised. Not only in Government but now, in the Country as a whole. He feels he has to say "something" indeed, "anything" to assert his authority. I suspect however, even he knows it's too late.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I think it probably is too late. Trying to define your party by focussing on these issues suggests they no longer have anything definitive to say about the bigger picture.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prioritising people in nursing care.

There has been in recent years concern that care in the NHS has not been sufficiently 'patient centred', or responsive to the needs of the patient on a case basis. It has been felt in care that it as been the patient who has had to adapt to the regime of care, rather than the other way around. Putting patients at the centre of care means being responsive to their needs and supporting them through the process of health care delivery.  Patients should not become identikit sausages in a production line. The nurses body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has responded to this challenge with a revised code of practice reflection get changes in health and social care since the previous code was published in 2008. The Code describes the professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses and midwives. Four themes describe what nurses and midwives are expected to do: prioritise people practise effectively preserve safety, and promote professionalism and trust. The

The internet trails of Ants

Ants share, and they are built to do just that.  They walk and talk to cooperate in all they do.  Ants have two stomachs, with the second one set aside for storing food to be shared with other ants.  Ants get pretty intimate when meeting each other.  The ants kiss, but this kiss isn't any ordinary kind of kiss. Instead, they regurgitate food and exchange it with one another.  By sharing saliva and food,  ants communicate.  Each ant colony has a unique smell, so members recognize each other and sniff out intruders. In addition, all ants can produce pheromones, which are scent chemicals used for communication and to make trails. Ants are problem solvers.  We may recall the problems puzzles we were given as children. We look to see if the pieces will fit.  Jiz saw puzzles are much the same but with many contextual factors. First, the picture tells a story. Then, once we know what the image might be, it becomes easier to see which pieces to look for.  Ants lay down trails. Just as we f

The Thin End account of COVID Lockdown