Charity's winter campaign donations down by half

A charity campaign to protect vulnerable people during the winter has seen its donations drop by about 50% compared with last year, the chief executive has said.

Suffolk Community Foundation has run its Surviving Winter Campaign for the past 15 years, helping provide warm spaces, fuel support and winter wellbeing packs.

The charity used to ask for people's winter fuel payments if they did not need them, but since a change in government policy, there has been a drop in donations.

Charity boss Hannah Bloom said it had been expected, as people deal with the increased cost of living.

The Department for Work and Pensions has been approached for comment.

"The appeal runs through until the end of March and last year we raised over £100,000, so we're at the midpoint, and this year we've raised just under £30,000," she explained to BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin.

"I'm not surprised, we expected that to happen.

"People were given winter fuel payments previously and there were many people that didn't need them that were very generously donating them on.

"We've got the double whammy of the cost of living, people have less money available at the moment.

"We are now in January which is always a really tight money."

The winter fuel payment was previously paid to all pensioners to help with energy costs during the winter.

But in July 2024, the government said payments would only go to those on low incomes who received specified benefits.

Following backlash it changed its policy and now, those with an annual income of more than £35,000 will have the payment taken back by HMRC.

In England and Wales the payment is worth £200 for people of state pension age up to 79 years old. People aged 80 or older receive £300.

The Surviving Winter Campaign has raised more than £1.6m over the years and with recent cold weather, Bloom said its charity partners would be working with people across the county to keep them safe.

"We're delighted that people have still come forward and still felt able to donate money to the campaign because it is so vitally important, but it's just a shame that the premise that the campaign was built on has shifted somewhat in the last couple of years," Bloom added.

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