Government's missed target is another blow for East Dunbartonshire pensioners - Jo
2.48.42pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 17th May 2006
The Government's failure to meet a key target on Pension Credit has been described as "cutting indictment" by Jo
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The latest missed Government target on Pension Credit highlights the need for urgent reform of the pension system, according to Jo Swinson MP
The Department for Work and Pensions admitted in its recent Departmental Report 2006 that a target of paying Pension Credit to 3 million pensioner households by March 2006 will not be met.
Jo said:
"Pensioners in East Dunbartonshire are once again being let down by the Government's fixation with means-testing. The failure to meet a key target in the war against poverty is a cutting indictment of the Government's pensions policy.
"In East Dunbartonshire, one in four pensioners who are eligible for Pension Credit are not claiming it. Take-up of Pension Credit nationwide is not picking up, but grinding to a halt. Means-testing, and the entire Pension Credit system, is unpopular, confusing and simply unsustainable.
"Fundamental reform is needed, and Ministers must bring forward the proposals in the forthcoming White Paper which put an end to a system that is leaving thousands of pensioners in unnecessary poverty."
Related Link:
Department for Work & Pensions Departmental Report 2006
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