UK: Raise the DWP Christmas Bonus from £10 for the first time in 51 YEARS!!!*�

[Sly Saint]

this petition seems to have had a renewed interest in the media given the situation re heating allowance.

Why this petition matters

Started by Shona McMahon
As this was the original post, it will remain the same but I am astonished at the renewed interest! Thank you

(This is now more than ever needed due to the vote to make the winter fuel payment means tested only! )

I was reading about the DWP “Christmas Bonus” .. how many years has it been at £10 now, I wondered?

I googled the question and would you believe it’s been £10 since it was introduced.. IN 1972!!

It did go up by LABOUR to £70 in 2008 to help with the financial crash, so why can’t the CONSERVATIVES do the same again during the cost of living crisis? And beyond?!

Christmas is THE most expensive time of year! Pensioners, the vulnerable & people like myself, disabled, could do with an extra boost at this time of year, especially as the energy assistance has been axed.

The excuse would probably be that we are getting the £300 cost of living payment. For many of us, that payment goes out on bills the same day it goes into the bank, so there is NO chance of it lasting till Christmas!

It was shocking to learn that the “£10 Christmas Bonus”, has been the same for OVER FIVE DECADES!!

I then wondered, how much would that be now with inflation? Using the Bank of England inflation tool which, I’m sure accurately, told me it’s £113.18!! Wow!!!!

Should we be asking, “Why can’t we can afford to buy someone a half decent present, or even have a proper Christmas dinner with all the trimmings?” .. in 2023??

This isn’t asking for “just another handout”. This is for those of us that don’t have an option to earn anything extra.

I implore you to sign & share this, if only because the government wouldn’t like their bonus to be stagnant for 51 years!

Then we respectfully ask that our Christmas bonus be raised in line with inflation please, or more.

Thank you for your support & I ask you again to please share if you can.

Petition · Raise the DWP Christmas Bonus from £10 for the first time in 51 YEARS!!!*� - United Kingdom · Change.org

 

[Wonko]

I remember getting it in the late 80s, before they decided that people who had double (or more) my income needed it more, so withdrew it from me. I was, at the time, on supplementary benefit bed and breakfast rate(short version - it was DSS policy at the time that claimants must move every few weeks so as to discourage them from...well...something, and the only accommodation that was available was generally out of season B&B's), and after my landlord took his cut I was left with around £8 per week to live off, so an extra £10 was a big deal - for instance it would much more than pay for an entire christmas dinner, or components thereof if people were lucky enough to have things like a kitchen. To match it these days it seems likely that over £100 would be needed.

Bunch of Christmas/claimant hating *&*(* at the DWP will not increase it, in fact they are more likely to remove it completely if their attention is called to the fact that it's still being paid.

 

[Kitty]

I've only qualified for it for a few years, but every time it feels like a calculated insult.

 

[Eleanor]

It's the accompanying letter that says: here's your £10, and if the DWP has accidentally overpaid you then you'll be subject to legal proceedings and sanctions. So very festive and Christian.

 

[Kitty]

here's your £10, and if the DWP has accidentally overpaid you then you'll be subject to legal proceedings and sanctions

What a Christmas card.

Next favourite is the one from the jeweller I bought a gift from in 1997, who bafflingly still has enough hope I might go back one day that he somehow got hold of the new address when I moved.

 

[JemPD]

It's the accompanying letter that says: here's your £10, and if the DWP has accidentally overpaid you then you'll be subject to legal proceedings and sanctions. So very festive and Christian.

I think they send it out with glee at the cold clutch of terror that the sight of a DWP envelope on the mat, brings as one is descending the stairs. I can imagine them rubbing their hands together.
It ought to have a little picture of an overly happy evil gremlin on the envelope. (One for pompous parsnip AI thread perhaps?) Something that looks smiley and generous but is also reaallly creepy.
In all honesty I'd happily forgo the tenner to avoid another DWP letter terror-spasm at any time of the year.

What a Christmas card.

Next favourite is the one from the jeweller I bought a gift from in 1997, who bafflingly still has enough hope I might go back one day that he somehow got hold of the new address when I moved.

 

[Fainbrog]

Stuff like this will probably be on the hit list for the Chancellor to cut in the budget. Along with making PIP a means tested or taxable benefit.

 

[Alis]

its not the 1st time in 52yrs. it was raised before but only for 1 year. Cant remember exact year.it was when Gordon Brown was chanceler.[ sp ] the Xmas before the year of him taking over as PM from Tony Blair so probably about 20 or so years ago.. it was raised to £60 for that year. it was a nice surprise.

 

[Sly Saint]

its not the 1st time in 52yrs. it was raised before but only for 1 year. Cant remember exact year.it was when Gordon Brown was chanceler.[ sp ] the Xmas before the year of him taking over as PM from Tony Blair so probably about 20 or so years ago.. it was raised to £60 for that year. it was a nice surprise.

as per the petition (see my earlier post)
"It did go up by LABOUR to £70 in 2008 to help with the financial crash"

 

[Sly Saint]

Labour refuses to increase even £10 Christmas bonus after winter fuel payment fury

The Labour government has refused to raise the £10 Christmas bonus from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP), despite widespread calls for it to be adjusted to inflation.

The DWP bonus is a one-off, tax-free payment to individuals who receive certain benefits.

It is usually sent out during the first week of December, at the beginning of the holiday season.

Labour refuses to increase even £10 Christmas bonus after winter fuel payment fury (msn.com)

 

[Alis]

as per the petition (see my earlier post)
"It did go up by LABOUR to £70 in 2008 to help with the financial crash"

Yeh . I was out by a couple of years. Gorden Brown became PM in 2007.And I thought it was £60,
Not bad for someone with severe cognitive issues / brain fog etc.
Also Not sure if it was solely because of the financial crash, there were other political reasons.

 

[Sly Saint]

DWP's £10 Christmas bonus deemed 'meaningless' as UK families struggle with soaring costs

Reflecting on the insignificant rise due to the festive period stipend, he remarked: "I must say, the first time we got the bonus we thought it was a typing error [because it was so low]. One month our payment suddenly increased by £10, and only when we got the note about it did we know it was a Christmas bonus.", reports Birmingham Live.

"In the 70s, £10 was worth a lot. But what is £10 these days, it barely covers a day's worth of energy? " The Christmas bonus figure has remained at £10 since its inception in 1972, prompting the launch of an online petition seeking an inflation-adjusted increase. The campaign has already garnered support from more than 17,000 signatories.

Were the bonus to match the inflation over those 52 years, individuals would see the payment jump to £114.75. One campaigner highlighted the issue, "The £10 Christmas bonus was introduced I think at the beginning of the 1970s, obviously £10 was meaningful then, but what's happened is every time they've changed things with the pensions, they've left other things," and added, "It's just sat there as an anachronism, really. I basically don't take it into account at all because it's been meaningless for decades."

In response to these concerns, a Government spokesperson asserted: "We will do everything in our power to protect billpayers, including by reforming the regulator to make it a strong consumer champion, working to make standing charges fairer, and rolling out a proper Warm Homes Plan to save families money."

DWP's £10 Christmas bonus deemed 'meaningless' as UK families struggle with soaring costs (msn.com)