Fife woman Annie Foster shivers inside a thick fleece hoodie after being frozen out of the UK Government’s cold weather payment scheme.
Annie lives in Glenrothes and is one of hundreds of victims of the postcode lottery used to determine who is eligible for the programme.
Payments of £25 are automatically paid to people on certain benefits if the outdoor temperature drops below freezing for seven days in a row.
And while this happened four or five times last winter, Annie didn’t get a penny.
This is because the weather station used to record the temperature is in Leuchars, 19 miles from Glenrothes.
And it is on the coast, which is several degrees warmer than the inland town.
Despite efforts by Glenrothes SNP MP Peter Grant, the government has refused to change the way it works out the payments.
Now Annie, who is disabled, has to keep her heating on low to avoid high energy bills.
And the 32-year-old says she has also cut back on food as the cost of living soars.
She said: “Because of my condition I feel cold all the time.
“Just now, I’m sitting in a big blanket-style hoodie and I still feel frozen.”
The prospect of rising energy bills is terrifying for Annie.
“I keep my heating on low as it is,” she said.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to heat the house if bills go up and I’m worried.”
She added: “I buy cheaper food now and going out for a meal with family is out of the question.”
MP has asked for a further review of the way cold weather payments are calculated
Mr Grant has repeatedly raised the issue with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
And the affected postcodes were included in a Met Office review of the weather stations used. But no changes will be made.
The dismayed MP has now asked for a further review.
He said: “It’s become an annual event for me to challenge the way the UK Government decides on eligibility for these payments.
“It’s been disadvantaging my constituents for years.
“I was hopeful that in this year’s weather station review they would finally see sense.
“But it seems obvious the decisions are being made by someone in an office in London rather than someone who knows anything about the geography of Fife.”
Mr Grant said he had repeatedly told government officials that while Leuchars is at sea level, parts of Glenrothes are 500 feet up.
“This makes a massive difference to the temperature and to people’s heating bills,” he said.
Leuchars ‘most appropriate site’
However, minister for work and pensions, Baroness Stedman-Scott said Leuchars remained the most appropriate site.
The decision was based on a Met Office recommendation after a study of temperatures around both areas, she said.
But she added: “My officials are continuing to discuss with the Met Office possible options for modernising the service in the longer term.”
