The Spring Statement ignores the needs of the elderly and will lead to a rise in pensioner poverty, according to Baroness Ros Altmann.

The restoration of the pensions triple lock will be too late for many pensioners the former Pensions Minister said.

Baroness Altmann said many pensions have insufficient protection against the cost of living crisis they are facing and those reliant on the State Pension will not be able to make ends meet.

She said: “I did hear the promise to restore the triple lock next year, but offering jam tomorrow, when it comes to pensioners, is not satisfactory.  Offering a better increase next year, will not help those elderly people who are at the end of their lives, unable to afford to heat their homes and feed themselves adequately and may not even be alive by then. They need help now.

“The household support fund is hardly likely to reach them. The result of this will be more misery and poverty for pensioners.  They deserve better. I would have liked to see more support being allocated for this year to these vulnerable members of society.”

Baroness Altmann added that dropping the earnings link for Pension Credit was a major error in social policy.

She said: “The was a failure to honour the commitment to increase State Pensions and Pension Credit in line with earnings, because the 8% earnings figures were upwardly ‘distorted’ by the pandemic. However, he chose to use the also distorted September 3.1% cpi figure, which was exceptionally low and did not reflect the October fuel price cap rise, which was already known.

“The House of Lords passed measures to keep the triple lock earnings link protection, with at least a compromise adjusted earnings figure, but the Government rejected this out of hand.  This leaves pensioners without sufficient protection against the cost of living crisis they are facing right now.”

She added that it is clear that the Chancellor’s priorities are working families, businesses and controlling public spending. She said that whilst these are worth objects other social objectives “seem to have been downgraded”.