Ninety per cent of people currently eligible in Bracknell for winter fuel payments will no longer get help, data reveals.

This comes as Age UK Berkshire has seen the number of calls received per month ‘effectively double’ over the past year.

In Bracknell, the number of people being supported by the charity has jumped from 768 last year to 1,265 this year.

In July, the Labour government announced that the winter fuel payment will become means-tested in England and Wales, rather than universal.

It pays between £100 to £300 to people born before 1958 to help pay their heating and energy bills.

While around 10 million pensioners are expected to be affected nationwide, new data has revealed that just over 90 per cent of those currently receiving the payment in Bracknell will not receive it this year.

CEO of Age Berkshire, Fiona Price, told the News: “We are absolutely inundated with people who have general cost of living concerns.

“I was in a meeting on Friday with about 40 older people and it [winter fuel payment] was one of the key topics of discussion there. They all mentioned they were worried about it.”

Many had already budgeted thinking that they would get the additional help, according to Mrs Price.

She recalls visiting one resident’s home who was only ‘heating one room in their house’.

The charity has seen a ‘huge increase’ in the number of elderly people reaching out for support in the last year – with more than one thousand more calls per month in 2024 compared to 2023.

The CEO of seven years explained: “We’re really, as an organisation, opposing the means testing of the winter fuel payment. It’s the poorest that will be severely impacted by it.”

She said that demand had increased significantly during the pandemic, with a particular rise in people aged between 55 and 65 asking for help.

This has resulted in her organisation taking on more staff members, particularly in their information and advice services.

As well as this, Age UK runs a befriending scheme to support the socially isolated, helping with shopping and general support around the home.

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced this cut back as part of a large package of changes to plug a £22 million 'black hole' in government finances.

Mrs Price said she worried that the scrap would have a ‘knock-on effect’ for hospitals and other important services across the county.

She continued: “We are prepared to help as much as we can, but we are under pressure too.”