It is a matter of grave concern that an estimated 18,000 pensioners are living in hardship in the Bradford district because they are struggling to meet everyday living costs.

And in many cases, according to the latest research by Age Concern, not only are they living in poverty, but many of our elderly are not receiving everything to which they are entitled.

It is a sad reflection on our society that those in the later years of their life, who should be given respect and admiration from the younger generations, are too often being forgotten and, if truth be told, neglected.

That is one of the reasons why this newspaper launched its With Respect campaign, to try and raise awareness of how important it is to ensure the aging members of our society receive the treatment they are entitled to.

With 53 per cent of older people having to make cutbacks and 16 per cent admitting to cutting back on heating to save money, despite the freezing conditions of the winter just gone, we still as a society have some way to go to achieve this aim.

One starting point, though, would be to look at why there are still huge numbers of our elderly population not claiming the benefits they are entitled to.

Whether it is pride, poor advice, lack of understanding or, most likely, a mixture of all these factors and others, those tasked with communicating these entitlements to pensioners have to do their jobs better.

We owe it to them to do everything possible to ensure they can grow old gracefully, with the financial security needed to ensure that happens.