Step in now to stop our OAPs freezing

MAKE no mistake, this winter will be hard for thousands of people.

A quadruple whammy of Universal Credit cuts, furlough coming to an end, huge hikes in fuel prices and supply chain shortages mean it is going to be more than a bumpy ride for many Scots.

There are 150,000 Scots pensioners already living in relative poverty and with the price cap on energy bills about to rise, thousands more on the brink.

Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s call for the Scottish Government to take immediate action and add an extra £70 to the Winter Fuel Payment is a common sense plan that would make a difference.

If the fuel cap rises by £139 then a £70 grant would cover half the increase for the poorest of people.

Although it was agreed as far back as 2016 that the Scottish Government could take over the administration of many benefits paid out by Whitehall, the SNP has delayed and delayed assuming responsibility for winter fuel payments and much else besides.

SNP ministers blame the Department for Work and Pensions, and the plan has been set aside for another three years.

But pensioners are facing heating or eating decisions this winter. The excuse of administrative and bureaucratic snarl-ups doesn’t cut it any more.

Nicola Sturgeon should instruct her team to cut through red tape, get the system running and get the money out.

Covid showed us that when the chips are down governments can act quickly and in unity.

This is going to be an emergency winter and the Scottish Government has to pull every lever to get the poorest pensioners through it.