Morecambe MP welcomes Winter Fuel Allowance U-turn

The Government has reversed its decision to drastically cut the Winter Fuel Payment, meaning around nine million pensioners in England and Wales will receive the support this winter — a sharp rise from just 1.5m last year.

The Winter Fuel Payment is a tax-free payment of up to £300 to help older people with heating costs during the winter.

As one of its first decisions, the Labour Government cut eligibility, restricting payments only to pensioners receiving Pension Credit, in a move aimed at plugging a £22billion gap in the public finances.

This reduced the number of recipients by almost 10 million.

In a £1.25billion U-turn, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she will reinstate the payment to most pensioners who previously received it.

"This is good news and shows that the Government is listening both to the public and backbench MPs like me who raised concerns over the threshold,” Mrs Collinge said.

"Whilst I support means-testing the allowance, and thought that it was ridiculous that wealthy pensioners could get it, I have repeatedly told the Government that the cut-off they set last year was too low.

"This new threshold of £35,000 means that pensioners above the threshold for pension credit, but who were still struggling with fuel costs, will now benefit."

The Treasury says the U-turn won’t involve extra Government borrowing, but fiscal experts have warned it may require tax rises or cuts elsewhere. The Chancellor has promised to explain the funding in the Autumn Budget.