Chancellor's statement offers little respite for older people

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s spring statement has done little to protect older people in Scotland from the soaring cost of living, Age Scotland has said.

The leading charity for older people has warned that the Chancellor’s failure to offer enough support, especially to those on the lowest incomes, means that tens of thousands more older people and pensioners in Scotland could face poverty and fuel poverty as they struggle to pay rising household bills.

Brian Sloan, chief executive of Age Scotland, said:

“Older households across Scotland are already reeling from the surge in their cost of living. Older people were looking to the Chancellor today for some respite but, disappointingly, received next to nothing to ease the pain of this very challenging time.

“For pensioners, particularly the hundreds of thousands on the lowest incomes, the cost of essential food and household energy are rising at levels far in excess of anything their incomes can cover.

“Inflation is already vastly outstripping next month’s very modest State Pension rise and our fear that more could soon be living in poverty and fuel poverty becomes very real. The coming months are going to be very difficult indeed and we are extremely worried about how older people on the lowest incomes are going to cope."