Spanish Climate

I don't know how many of you know but to prove that France and Spain are warmer than the soluth west of the UK they

have added, for France, the winter average temperatures of Martinique, French Guyana, Reunion, Guadeloupe and Mayotte as they are overseas territories.  For Spain they have added the Canaries,the Balerics, Cueta and Melilla.

Both these countries have they highest number of Brits living in them.  Italy has been classed as cold as it has no overseas territories that they could use to fiddle the figures but it only has a small number of Brits living there compared to France and Spain

Ireland has a higher average winter temp than SW England but they couldn't pay it in Norther Ireland and not Southern Ireland so they are hoping that no one has noticed this.

Talking about pensions and annual increases the new Pensions Bill going through Parlimant at the moment, Clause 20 makes residence in the UK a condition of receipt of the increase, so if it is fully enacted expats won't get that either

This message was last edited by jokamac on 15/02/2014.

Re: Spanish Climate,as someone who lived on the Costa Blanca for 7 years,I completely agree with this article,we lived near the sea,but high up a mountain,in summer it was very pleasant,unlike at sea level where the humidity was very high,but in winter! the wind was hurricane force and very cold! Now we are in France in Brittany,and yes we have been told that Duncan-Smith will if elected,stop the Winter Fuel Allowance,because he says,France is a warm country,he wants to try living in the French Alps! We have found out through the ' Connexion' newspaper,an English language paper distributed throughout France,that Duncan-Smith,included the French overseas possessions,in the Meditterraean,the Carribean,Indian Ocean & the Pacific Ocean,to boost up the 'average temperature'! and apparently it was not that much warmer than Exeter,where the comparision has been taken from! We also signed a petition organised by the 'Connexion' but it failed to gather enough signatures to force through a debate in the House of Commons,apparently the minimum figure is 100,000,but as there only 56,000 brits living in France,it was a non starter! This is only the tip of the iceberg though,because if elected the government will hold a referendum on Britains membership of the European Union,and from what I understand the British people will vote to leave the EU.which will be a disaster for Brits who live in the EU.

I think that should be 56,000 pensioner Brits living in France. The actual number of Brits living in France is over a quarter of a million.

There are many benefits that expats are not entitled to if they live away from the UK.  Pension credits, housing benefits, council tax, carers' allowances, attendance allowances, etc. etc.  So it is only right to put a stop to WFA or it will never end.  For example immigrants who worked for decades in the uk will retire back to "the old country" and take their pensions with them.  I know of many £10 Australian immigrants (50's an 60's) who return to the UK when they retire and stay the statutary amount of time so that they can claim the UK pension that they started to pay in for before emmigrating thus drawing both the Australian OAP pension and the UK OAP pension.  It's never ending and there are so many loop_holes.

  Rita    There are many benefits that expats are not entitled to if they live away from the UK.

But the DPW say that WFA is not one of them. 

Rita  ………………….   thus drawing both the Australian OAP pension and the UK OAP pension

I do not know, but understand that in order to qualify for a UK OAP one must have paid in for a number of years,  I believe it is 30, but I will be corrected on this if I am wrong.  That being so, whilst people living in UK are entitled to charity payments' from the DWP, I do not believe they can claim an OPA

This a QUOTE form the internet

To qualify for a full (100%) Basic pension you must have contributed for most of your working life from age 16. The minimum pension payable is 25% of the standard rate, based on years of contribution, with a minimum of 11 years for men and 10 years for women. If your contribution record is less than this, you may not be eligible for any UK pension.

Rita        So it is only right to put a stop to WFA or it will never end.

I repeat what I said earlier, “If you argue that then you may as well include the OAP as well and even private pensions based in UK”  

My older sister, who like me is a Canadian national, worked in the 60's and 70's in London before moving to Australia. She received a UK pension, albeit less than the full rate, and a full Australian pension together with her private pension from Super contributions by her and her employer in Australia.

Rossetti

Currently, it is 30 years to qualify for a full state pension but this is rising to 35.   Until recently it was actually 40 years, but remember that is for full state pension.   You only need to work a handful of years to get a proportion of the pension - maybe it used to be 10? 

To Mariedav,yes you are right there only 56,000 in receipt of the State Pension living in France,that is why the Connexion Newspaper campaign failed to reach anywhere near the 100,000 needed to force a House of Commons debate,the remaining 94,000 out of a total of 150,000 Brits in France,were not interested because they don't receive the WFA anyway.

To Mariedav,you are right that there only 56,000 in receipt of State Pension living in France,that is why the Connexion Newspaper failed to get anywhere near the 100,000 signatures to force a House of Commons debate on the issue,the remaining 94,000 out of a toal of 150,000 Brits living in France,were not interested in voting because they do not receive the WFA anyway.

The WFA is payable just before Christmas.

My mother, God bless her soul, used it to buy Christmas presents for the grandkids.

Why not issue it in February when the fuel bills come in?????

Randolph, money is rather like water in a bucket. If you add some to the bucket you have more, when you use it you do not use a ‘particular part of that water’.   WFA, or any other money,  paid into an account ceases to be ‘specific’ you just have more in the pot  to meet your requirements.

(Good to know I am not the only Irish person here begorrah ! )

In my mum's case it was more like a bucket of full fat milk. She would cream off the top to buy the grandkid's presents. 

The main effect of my mum receiving WFA was the kids got bigger and better presents - and she still struggled to pay the bills!

Sentiment won over prudence everytime..........we ended up helping with her bills and the kids were the main benefactors! 

I wrote the original comment that sparked off this thread but most of the replies seem to miss the point. I was not arguing for or against the Winter Fuel Allowance; it exists and that is very nice for those who get it. Nor am I even objecting to a "temperature test." Where there is no winter, it is perfectly reasonable that there should not be a Winter Fuel Allowance.

No, my argument, basically, is with lies, misinformation and injustice - and, of course, Iain Duncan Smith ! It is fairly obvious (and predictable) that most readers of Eye on Spain live on the Coast. Even so, the comment by one of your readers that "the sutuation in inland Spain is irrelevant since most "Brits" (as they like to call themselves) live on the Coast" was fairly insufferable ! There is much more to Spain than just the wretched coast, whether all the "Brits" live on the coast or not. And it can be objectively proven and independently verified that Spain is NOT a hot country in winter. Nor is it very dry - although this is probably not a good year to talk about rain !! It generally rains more here in the winter than in the U.K. But not this year, of course. 

When I first started this battle with the DWP, I suggested that they contact the British Embassy in Madrid to get the true facts. But they don' want the true facts; they prefer ignorance and prejudice. Head Honcho Duncan Smith has declared that Spain is a hot country and that's that. So, apparently, is France. But not Italy ! Perhaps Duncan Smith has a house in Tuscany (like so many British politicians). 

I also told them ten years or so ago that they were breaking European Law. But again they refused to listen until the European Court of Justice comfirmed the bleeding obvious ! And Duncan Smith started squealing about how bloody stupid" they were ! Now, I am no great fan of the European Court of Justice nor of the European Union, come to that but so long as we choose to be members of this silly club, we have to play by the rules, even if the French never do!

Nor am I all that fussed about the Winter Fuel Allowance; it makes very little difference. But being tolkd by a stubborn ministerial idiot that I live in a hot country when I have never been so cold in all my life is "a red rag to a bull." And I would be very grateul if those of you sunning yourselves on the Costa del Sol or the Costa Blanca did not add insult to injury ! 

Why don't I move to sunny Marbella and get warm ? Do me a favour ! I came to live in Spain ! Despite the awful climate !      

NR   I also told them ten years or so ago that they were breaking European Law. But again they refused to listen until the European Court of Justice confirmed the bleeding obvious

Just to make it clear. The ECJ Stewart case was a Finding re Invalidity Benefit not WFP.

 However, in the light of that Finding the DWP decided it was legally obliged to pay the WFA. 

For that reason I have been trying to  persuade  DWP to pay the back years on the basis that the law did not change only the interpretation.  Thus, when DWP decided 2 years ago that  the  the law demanded WFA should be paid, it must have always been so since WFA was introduce and, therefore, in law it must  be back dated.

If posters, who think we should get WFA,  gave as much effort to arguing  with DWP that we should get the back dated payments, as they do arguing about whether we  will qualify if the rules are changed,  then maybe we would what we are legally owed.

PS those who don't want the payment can always donate it

nrosullivan.It generally during the same period rains more here in the winter than in the U.K. But not this year, of course. 

I've got a smallholding in La Vera, Caceres. It's rained every day except 5 since Christmas. We've had over 1100 mm (43") during this period . The UK has had maybe 300 mm (12"). 

Guyt!!
What planet are you on 12 inches rain in the uk tell that to the thousands flooded out you obviously dont get tge news on your small holding uk has had tge worst rain since the 1700s ** EDITED **

So that's it, then. It's got nothing to do with cold, the fact people need £3.80 a week so they don't freeze to death. It all boils down to "I know my rights", "It's my yooman rites, innit?" or, more importantly, "They get it so I should as well".

The fact that in UK they heating goes on in October (sometimes September) and is on most of the day and night for the next 6 months whilst in Spain it goes on for maybe an hour or so in the evening matters not one jot. Them lot over there are getting it, so should we. "We paid our dues" even though you haven't. You are in Spain paying your VAT, supporting your shops in Spain, not in UK..

johnzx mentioned the Labour government brought it in to buy votes. Well, almost right. Because the UK government had stuck VAT on domestice fuel, it was designed to help the OAPs pay the VAT. 

You don't pay VAT to the UK. You don't pay the 1% cold weather levy on your electric bills like they do in UK. You haven't paid into any such cold weather fund so you haven't paid your dues.You pay it in Spain so why not fight the Spanish government to get what your feel is due to you? (probably because you know you'd make a laughing stock of yourselves but the fact you are making a laughing stock of yourselves with the British government doesn't seem to matter so much).

Still, much easier for British expats to moan and whinge and "do battle" if they feel they aren't getting their rights, innit?

And then they have the cheek to complain about cold house but do absolutely nothing about it. Even the OP talked about cold marble floors with no fitted carpets or decent heating system. So it's much easier to come on here and moan about rather than do something about it.

We have had proper double glazing fitted in the bedrooms. We put thermo-shield on all the other windows. We have a neater heater system fitted which has not increased the electricity bill. We have two very large rugs in the living room (2.3m by 1.6m each) which covers virtually the whole floor and roll one of them up in summer and stick it under the bed. If you bought a house in UK that didn't have carpets, heating or double glazing, what would you do? Well, most people would have them installed but I suppose some on here would just spend time waiting for the government to come and fit it for free.

If you knew the feeling in UK against expats in warm countries (and, yes, Spain is a warm country which no-one forced you to move to) you would understand why the government did something about it.

But you carry on, fight the good fight and even take it to the Court of Human Rights, after all, someone is getting something you're not. 

Thankfully, as it's being stopped, the British expats (because it is only them who moan and whinge about everything you can think of) will not be able to harp on about this subject. They will, of course, find something else that offends their sensibilities because, after all, it's what they do.

Onward British expat soldiers, fight the good fight with all of your might. Makes one proud to be British. (wonder if I try and put on an Australian accent no one will notice I'm a whinging Pom?)

@casperruby: Actually, I was in UK for most of the period mentioned. January was wetter than February.

"Southeast and central southern England has received more than twice its average rainfall with 175.2 mm of rain from 1 - 28 January. This beats the previous record of 158.2 mm set in January 1988."

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/news/releases/archive/2014/Early-January-Stats

175mm is a little under 7 inches. Wales got by far the most rain in January and even then it was only 246mm, less than 10 inches. 

Try not to be so shrill.