Thousands of retired British pensioners living in France have been “cheated” out of their winter fuel payments by ministers who used French territories in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean to argue that France is too hot to qualify for the benefits, reports The Telegraph.
The Department for Work and Pensions is arguing that French winters are significantly warmer than Britain’s, despite Met Office data suggesting mainland France is at least as cold as the UK.
The DWP calculation includes both the European mainland and the 'Départements d'outre mer' (DOMS) – which include Martinique and French Polynesia.
Including Caribbean and Pacific islands significantly increases the average temperature in “France”.
The pensions minister Steve Webb confirmed the calculations in a letter to an expat organisation, CLE (Charente Limousine Exchange), seen by The Telegraph.
Mr Webb justifies his department's analysis by saying that the Chancellor had announced that winter fuel payments would only be paid to people living in countries where the average winter temperature is lower than the warmest region of the UK – south west England. There are around 30,000 recipients in France.
Mr Webb emphasised that the French Government includes the DOMS as “integral parts of the French state”, which meant it was reasonable to include La Reunion, Guadeloupe and French Guyana in the DWP’s calculations.
“Based on data from the Meteorological Office, the average winter temperature for France is higher than that of South West England, therefore Winter Fuel allowance will not be paid to people living in France,” Mr Webb wrote.
Since a European Court judgement in 2012, winter fuel payments have been made to eligible people living outside the UK and in the European Economic Area and Switzerland.
The winter fuel payment is a tax-free benefit for pensioners worth between £100 and £300, depending on the recipient's age and family circumstances.
Payments to pensioners in the European Economic Area and Switzerland rose dramatically after the court decision, from £12.8m in 2011/12 to £21.4m in 2012/13.
Most recipients are British citizens but the benefit was also made available to those with a "genuine connection" to the UK.
The Government announced in 2013 that from 2015 winter fuel payments wouldn't be made to expats in warmer countries.
Calculating the payments at a regional level would be “unnecessarily complex and costly to administer”, according to Mr Webb’s department.
This means that people living in Italy – which is further south than France – will still get the allowance. However, people living in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Malta, Gibraltar and Cyprus, will no longer get the money.
CLE membership secretary Dave Spokes said the decision could lead to elderly Britons losing out.