£25 isn’t a lot of money. But it’s better than nothing. So at VB we think we can justifiably be proud that, following last week’s cold snap, thousands of people throughout the South and West Wight will be £25 better off following a change to the Cold Weather Payments (CWP) system brought about by a campaign started here.
It was a little over a year ago that contributor General Synopsis, who also writes as Retired Hack, highlighted a flaw in the system which meant many Island postcodes were assessed for CWPs using temperature measurements at St Catherine’s Lighthouse.
St Catherine’s exposed coastal position means that in winter it’s often the mildest place on the whole Island – warmer than almost all the places its measurements are supposed to represent when it comes to CWPs.
Many parts of the Island affected
The affected postcodes are PO30 (Newport) and PO38 to 41 (South and West Wight). Remember last winter’s pre-Christmas Arctic blast?
Well, people eligible for CWPs – those on Pension Credit, Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance or Income-related Employment and Support Allowance – got nothing because, at the lighthouse, it was too warm.
The rest of the Island was luckier. Postcodes PO31 to 37 (North and East Wight) were linked, on Met Office advice, to Thorney Island weather station, near Portsmouth, rather than St Catherine’s. They got three payments, totalling £75, last winter.
Islander’s complaint instigated change
Following our story in December 2010, General Synopsis asked Island MP Andrew Turner to raise the issue with Steve Webb, the Pensions Minister whose responsibility CWPs are.
Mr Webb forwarded our concerns to the Met Office. Then, last October, we got the news that, for 2011-12, all Island postcodes would be assessed from Thorney Island. The decision, Mr Webb explained, was based on sound meteorological, rather than political, considerations – exactly as our contributor said.
The Government website’s useful postcode checker confirms the news that the whole Island is now due for a payment.
Authorities “admitted we were right”
General Synopsis told VB today: “You could have knocked me over with a feather when the powers-that-be actually looked at what we were saying and admitted we were right.
“Few of us like bone-chilling weather, but we like being ripped off less. So better late than never. The £25 for last week should be paid automatically to those eligible within a couple of weeks, and I expect that’ll be it for this winter – spring’s around the corner, thank goodness.”
