Winter fuel allowances get a frosty reception

Having read Mr BH Bennett's letter (Observer, July 11) regarding the case for paying winter fuel allowance to those British people who have moved abroad, I think perhaps he is missing the point regarding the winter fuel allowance.

This payment is towards the cost of heating your home in Britain during a British winter with minus temperatures – not for heating a home in Cyprus, Spain, Italy, or even Timbuktu.

Therefore, if you choose to live outside Britain for a period of a year or more, then your entitlement for a heating allowance should not be a God-given entitlement.

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You would not expect to be given British unemployment benefit sent to you for lying on some distant beach year on year, or housing benefit for accommodation you live in abroad.

J J Frame

Felpham

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