Sir – It was good that BBC Radio Oxford publicised this year’s national Winter Fuel Campaign, spearheaded in the county by Oxfordshire Community Foundation, on Phil Gayle’s Breakfast Show on Monday.

We were disappointed, however, with the choice of words that Phil used to challenge his listeners. “Should we,” he asked, “take payments away from people who don’t need it?” This question skewed the whole debate into issues of means testing and Government interference.

What Phil failed to recognise is what OCF’s appeal is about. There is no “should” involved: people who receive the donation and who are comfortably off, and there are many in the county, are being encouraged to look at ways in which they can make life easier for those who are less fortunate. This may be by donating all or part of their allowance to OCF, or by circulating information about the appeal to their friends, or by identifying vulnerable people in their area who may need help, and telling OCF about them What he also failed to point out is that nearly a quarter of the households in this country, and in Oxfordshire, live in “fuel poverty” (ie spend more than 10 per cent of their income on gas and electricity) and that more than half of them are over 60.

The Government’s winter fuel allowance of £100 for each pensioner, while welcome, will be only a partial help. In a year, when fuel costs generally have increased by between 15 and 20 per cent, many older people will have increasingly difficult choices to make about heating their homes. Last year we were involved in helping to set up the appeal. We were amazed by the generosity of all those who contributed to it and whose donations were used to help a wide variety of groups and individuals across the county. Thanks in large part to OCF’s success there is now a national campaign, endorsed by a range of celebrities, and we hope that even more money will be raised. In particular OCF have been selected by the BigGive to take part in their Christmas Challenge Match Fund and from December 5-9 all online donations will be doubled.

We are grateful to the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times for the support and publicity they have already given and hope that they will be able to continue this over the next few weeks. For those who want more information you can contact OCF (ocf@oxfordshire.org or on 01865 789666). Incidentally, you don’t have to be over 60 to make a donation!

Margie and Jim Campbell, Oxford