Monday, September 02, 2024
Labour under pressure on winter fuel allowance
The Observer reports that the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is under fresh pressure this weekend over controversial plans to limit winter fuel allowance to the poorest pensioners, amid claims that it will cause “severe hardship” to millions of elderly people.
The paper says that they have learned that the country’s leading charity for older people, Age UK, has written to Reeves with a specific proposal it believes will be fairer and that would prevent around two million pensioners being deprived of a payment it says they badly need:
The UK chancellor revealed plans in July to introduce a means test for the winter fuel payment, where only those on pensions credit would qualify, as part of a push to plug what she said was a £22bn black hole in the public finances left by the previous Conservative administration.
But many Labour MPs have reported being bombarded with complaints from constituents furious at the plan, which was not in Labour’s election manifesto. Last week, on a visit to Scotland, Reeves was told by a group of anxious Labour backbenchers that they did not believe the plans were fair.
The issue is likely to be raised by both Labour and Tory MPs when parliament reconvenes after the summer recess on Monday.
In a letter to Reeves, Age UK has put forward a detailed plan suggesting that, rather than limiting winter fuel payments to those on pension credit, the allowance should also be paid to two million more pensioners – those on a range of other benefits including housing benefit, council tax support, attendance allowance and carers’ allowance.
Confirming the move, Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Age UK has written to the chancellor, explaining why we oppose the means-testing of winter fuel payment and asking her to take action to safeguard the estimated two million pensioners who, as things stand, are set to lose it and who will experience severe hardship as a result.
“We think that, if the policy is to be introduced at all, then it shouldn’t happen so quickly, and if it is to happen in the future, the pool of pensioners entitled to winter fuel payment needs to be made far wider. There are different options for how to achieve this, but there’s no time to do any of them – or to make a big difference to pension credit take-up either – in the few months left this year.
“It’s important to understand that by aligning the means-testing of the payment with pension credit, the government is removing it from all pensioners whose annual incomes are above about £11,500 if they are single and £17,500 if they are a couple.
“We accept that the state of the public finances means that people of all ages who can afford to contribute more should be asked to do so, but surely no one can reasonably suggest that a widow living on her state pension and a tiny occupational pension, taking her income to a meagre £13,000 a year, is someone who ought to be in that category. And yet this is the result of the government’s decision. They need to think again.”
This compromise is important, so let's hope that the Chancellor is listening.
