Peter MacDonald was told by benefits chiefs at Doncaster Council that he would be paid an additional £9.06 on top of his £120-a-week allowance. A heavy drinker has been given extra benefits to help fund his boozing. Peter MacDonald was stunned when he received a letter awarding him the additional payments. The most incredible part of the story is that he never even applied for them. The 51-year-old was told by benefits chiefs at Doncaster Council that he would be paid an additional £9.06 on top of his £120-a-week allowance to help finance his heavy drinking. [1] The former boiler cleaner said: “I know it’s a nanny state but I’d no idea they looked after you this well.” [2] Benefits manager Marian Bolton wrote to Peter after he fell into arrears with his rent. The letter stated: “We can see that you are struggling to pay the shortfall between your rent and housing benefit due to the large amount you spend on alcohol. “We understand that you spend this as you are alcohol dependent.” We have decided to award you a discretionary housing payment and from 6/10/2014 we will pay you an extra £9.06 a week. [3]
The payments from the South Yorkshire council will last until next April, but Peter has been told he may be able to apply for them to continue. Peter, who suffers from a bipolar disorder, insists he did not apply for any extra cash and disputes being branded an alcoholic, although he admits drinking about five pints a day. “I didn’t ask them for more money. I don’t know how this happened,” he said. “I’ve a nurse comes to see me because of my condition so perhaps her department asked the council to help me out. [4] “They must have told them I like a drink or something but I didn’t think I was that bad. “It’s not like I go out on sessions every Saturday night or anything,” he explained. [5] Peter, whose ill health forced him to give up a job as a boiler cleaner at a power station in 2011, receives £120 a week in employment support allowance because of his medical condition. Confirming the £9 payment was correct, Doncaster Council’s director of finance and corporate services, Simon Wiles, seems to see no problems with that, he said: “We are committed to supporting our most vulnerable residents, in particular when it comes to housing. We followed national guidance.” [6]
Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of pressure group Taxpayers’ Alliance, said to the Daily Mail that the council’s decision to award the extra money was ‘staggering’. ‘It’s staggering that taxpayers’ money is knowingly being handed out to fund alcohol dependency,’ he said. ‘Most people would love to have a few free rounds bought for them at the pub, but that’s not a reality for those in work. We have to simplify and reform the welfare system to make sure we ease the burden on taxpayers, but also so that people get the support they need.’ [7]
