Bracknell’s council leader has said she used her winter fuel payments to donate to a foodbank.

Councillor Mary Temperton, leader of Bracknell Forest Council, defended her Labour government during a heated debate on the decision to scrap winter fuel payments at a council meeting on Wednesday, November 27.

The Labour Government stopped the payment between £200 to £300 to elderly people after a vote in Parliament in September.

The Conservative group put forward a motion branding the move ‘nasty and spiteful’ as more than 16,000 pensioners in the borough will lose out on the payment. Now, only those on means tested benefits will be eligible, which is approximately 10 per cent of Bracknell’s elderly population.

Councillor Nick Allen said: “Whether or not someone can afford it is not necessarily the issue. the bigger issue is the fear of not being able to afford to heat their home.”

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He added that the household support fund, which has been extended into next year, will be enough to support just three per cent of Bracknell’s pensioners.

His motion called for the council to write to the Chancellor and MP for Bracknell to demand a review of the decision, as well as sign the Age UK petition against the cuts.

Leader of the council Mary Temperton said: “When money is short its right that the funding available is used to support those most in need.

“Like many, many of the pensioners included in the 16,471, I have always given the winter fuel allowance away – in my case to the foodbank, to support those most in need.”

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Labour members put forward an amendment to the motion, which stated the decision was made due to the £22 billion ‘black hole’ in government finances.

It also went into more detail on work carried out in supporting pensioners, including contacting affecting residents, providing food vouchers and allocating £140,000 in funding.

The amendment stated the council will ensure funding will continue into the next budget.

Liberal Democrat Councillor Patrick Smith said although he agrees there would be ‘wide reaching and damaging ramifications’ due to the cuts, the motion was based on a ‘desire to embarrass the majority labour group’.

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‘Letter writing and a few more signatures on a petition will not improve the situation for many Bracknell pensioners’, councillor Smith argued.

Green Councillor Sheila Collings expressed concerns that ‘the onus has shifted away from national to local government to deal with the consequences of the cut, when so many councils are already overstretched’.

The Labour groups amendment was supported by Liberal Democrats and Greens and the motion was passed. Conservative councillors abstained from the final vote.