Our Councillors have passed a motion calling on the Government to review its decision on winter fuel allowance payments and protect tens of thousands of Rushcliffe residents from fuel poverty this winter.
Read more online: https://t.co/zQnHjqVgRx pic.twitter.com/E79WbxpUjy
— Rushcliffe Borough Council (@Rushcliffe) September 27, 2024
The Department for Work and Pensions has outlined four reasons why some Pension Credit claimants will not receive the £300 Winter Fuel Payment this year. The payment, previously available to all households with someone at state pension age, is now limited to those receiving Pension Credit or certain other benefits. To qualify, claimants must have had an active claim during the qualifying week of September 16 to 22, 2024.
However, even eligible Pension Credit recipients may be excluded under certain conditions. Pensioners residing in Scotland are not eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. Instead, they can apply for the Winter Heating Payment, worth £58.75, paid from December 2024.
Labour must end its war on pensioners and put the British people first, and quickly.
Read Reform UK Leader @Nigel_Farage's comments here👇https://t.co/XGzkNhiVgC
— Reform UK (@reformparty_uk) September 27, 2024
The payment is automatically given to those claiming eligible benefits, including Pension Credit.
What if cutting the winter fuel payment is…not such a bad idea? Some nuanced analysis from me @theipaper https://t.co/MRlbBGcB7E
— Vicky Spratt (@Victoria_Spratt) September 26, 2024
Those living in a care home for the entire period from June 24 to September 22, 2024, are not eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment. However, if they lived in a care home for less than 13 weeks, including the qualifying week, they may still receive the payment.
Pensioners who have been in hospital receiving free treatment for more than a year are not eligible for the payment. Those in prison for the whole qualifying week of September 16 to 22, 2024, will also not receive the payment. The deadline for claiming the Winter Fuel Payment is December 21.
Pensioners who haven’t yet applied for Pension Credit can still do so, as claims can be backdated by up to three months, covering the qualifying week in September. The Winter Fuel Payment is tax-free and won’t affect other benefits. Most eligible recipients will receive it automatically, but it’s always wise to verify one’s status.
Rachel Reeves has warned that cuts to pensioner winter fuel payments will save hundreds of millions less than anticipated. This comes amidst claims from Labour that they inherited a £22bn “blackhole” in public finances. The move, expected to remove payments from millions across England and Wales, is now in doubt due to a 152 per cent surge in claims for pension credit over the last eight weeks.
Official government data suggests an additional 45,000 extra claims have already been made, which means potential savings could be significantly lower than the Treasury expected.
why pensioners may miss fuel payment
Research from Policy in Practice suggests there could be an additional 158,000 more claims by the pension credit deadline in late December, potentially costing an additional £246m, with total costs reaching up to £700m.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer addressed concerns in a Channel 4 News interview, stating, “I do understand how colleagues in the Labour movement feel about this. This is clearly a difficult decision but a motion at conference doesn’t dictate Government policy.”
A government spokesperson stated, “We want people to get the benefits they are entitled to, which is why the government is working hard to drive up pension credit uptake. We are committed to supporting pensioners – with millions set to see their state pension rise by £1,700 this parliament through our commitment to the triple lock.
However, given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right that we target support to those who need it most.”
Alan Tate, of the Communication Workers Union, said the winter fuel payment cut had “overshadowed” the work of the new Labour Government. He noted, “The CWU has been inundated with emails and calls from our retired members worried about choosing between heating and eating.”
A Labour councillor has spoken out against the Winter Fuel cut by the UK Labour Government, stating, “having a more professional bunch of people implementing austerity is not what was elected in the UK Labour government. It was elected for change.”
The comments came during a frosty debate in the Guildhall chamber where Plaid Cymru’s Cllr Carrie Harper presented a motion, calling on the council to “condemn the recent decision by the UK Labour Government to cut the Winter Fuel Allowance” and “to halt the proposed cuts with a view to ensuring the most vulnerable in our society are not put at risk due to the loss of this critical payment.”
Cllr Harper passionately expressed, “Over 9 million pensioners across the UK are going to be impacted by these cuts.
Over 16,000 of those will be right here in Wrexham in our borough, and with energy price rises on the way as well. There are people in our communities this winter who are going to be forced to turn the heating down. We know cold homes are directly linked to higher rates of strokes, heart attacks, and respiratory diseases.
So this cut is literally going to be a matter of life and death for some people in our area.”
Labour Group Leader Cllr Dana Davies responded, “I understand the sentiment behind the motion. Where we as a Labour Group disagree is where all pensioners receive the winter fuel allowance, as not all are financially vulnerable. Many pensioners are telling me they don’t need it.”
Cllr Davies suggested an amendment to the motion, noting that the council should ask the Chancellor for reassurance that those whose incomes are close to the threshold for pension credit receive support through winter and to review the current threshold for low-income households.
The amendment also proposed efforts to encourage Wrexham residents to apply for the underclaimed pension credit. Council Leader Mark Pritchard rejected the Labour amendment, stating, “I won’t support the alternative motion because I think everybody in this room and across Wrexham must be unhappy with what’s happened. It is all about decision making and making the right decision at the right time, and in my humble opinion, this is not the right decision to make.”
The amendment saw 12 votes in favour and 29 against, prompting a reversion to the original motion.
Cllr Mark Pritchard requested the word ‘condemned’ be reworked to signal disagreement with the UK Government decision, which was adopted. Councillor Anthony Wedlake voiced his opposition to the cuts, emphasizing his responsibility to vote in alignment with his constituents’ views and beliefs. He stated, “I cannot vote with the Labour Group.
I have to vote with my constituents who have collectively been appalled by this decision.”
