Budget: Hospital 'hotel charges' for pensioners abolished

The Chancellor told MPs the Government was abolishing hospital accommodation charges for everyone who had charges imposed on them through the social security system.

All singe pensioners with income below £139 per week and pensioner couples with total income below £203 a week would benefit from Pension Credit from October.

Mr Brown also announced that pensioners aged 80 and above would now receive an extra £100 winter allowance – bringing the total allowance to £300 for almost two million people.