Christmas comes late for 13,000 elderly people in Edinburgh North & Leith

9.42.02am GMT Sat 28th Feb 2009

Kevin Lang is pushing for the Labour Government to pay out the promised Christmas bonus.

Christmas bonus payments for 13,680 elderly people in Edinburgh North & Leith to help with winter fuel bills will not be paid until nearly Easter, warns a leading local Liberal Democrat.

According to research carried out by Liberal Democrats in Parliament, nearly one in ten older people will be getting their Christmas bonus at a time when their grandchildren are getting their Easter eggs.

Kevin Lang, local Lib Dem parliamentary candidate, is leading calls in Edinburgh North & Leith to speed up payments and make sure older residents of the area get their bonus as soon as possible.

"This late payment is appalling," said Kevin. "At a time of sky high heating and fuel bills, paying the bonus three months late is just not good enough.

"I am urging the Government to ensure that payments are made promptly next Christmas. Making the elderly wait until it's nearly Easter is just not acceptable."

Steve Webb MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, said, "The Chancellor, Alistair Darling, stood up in the House of Commons in November and promised pensioners a Christmas bonus on their winter fuel payments, but clearly this was nothing of the sort.

"It is outrageous that this money will not be reaching pensioners until nearly Easter."

Parliamentary questions by Liberal Democrat MPs revealed that 8.69 percent of bonus payments - nearly one in ten - will not be made until March.