Winter fuel payment All pensioners will not be restored, a minister has shocked millions of people across the country.
It came Rahel reeves to be confirmed U-turn expected on controversial cuts There will be a place for this winter – but said that the government will not determine the details of how they will pay for the autumn budget.
Sir ker stormer Last month announced its intentions to provide access to winter fuel payment to more people, Labor first after a few months of universal payment.
But confusion is increasing on what these changes will be seen and when they will be effective.
Speaking in Manchester, the Chancellor said: “I had to make decisions last year to restore the sound public finance, and included many difficult decisions around welfare, taxation and public spending – including the decision to test winter fuel payments, so that only the poorest pensioners, pension credits were found.
“But we have now placed our public finance on a strong rank. The economy is in a better size, but we have also heard the concerns that people had about the level of instrument testing.
“So we are making changes in it. They will be in place so that pensioners will be paid this coming winter, and we will announce the details of that level, as we can do as soon as we can.”
The pension minister comes after Torsten Bell, which states that there is no possibility of returning to a universal winter fuel payment for all.
Talking to the work and pension committee on Wednesday, Mr. Bell said: “There is no possibility of a universal winter fuel payment on your question directly, the principle does not, I think most people, 95 percent people, agree, it is not a good idea that we have a system that has paid a few pounds, and so we are not going to continue with it.
“But we must be looking to make more pensioners eligible.”
It was initially expected that a change in review of the expenditure of next week would be unveiled, but the Chancellor’s comment in Manchester on Wednesday – when it said the government said “how to pay everything in the budget in the autumn” – has dumped it on suspicion.
Labor MP Rachel Maskel criticized the decision not to restore the winter fuel payment to all, warning that “the tested benefits failed to reach the people”.
He told Independent: “What I challenge to the minister is: How will they distribute winter fuel payment to all weaker people to get the support they need?”
“Over 3 or 4 meters, people who are eligible did not claim pension credits, entrances for winter fuel, in the previous winter, because this means that the benefits tested fail to reach people – a point government should have thrown everything in trying to claim people.
“When 1 meter more people are in fuel poverty, it shows that not only the eligibility needs to be changed, but also the process that will reach the payment, or people will continue to go to the cold.
“This is why universality works with the taxation system, then brings back money from people with high pension or assets.”
Winter fuel payment Payments of £ 300 to help with energy costs in cold months. In July, the Chancellor announced that pensioners will not get pension credits or other means, the benefits made will no longer benefit.
As a result, only 1.5 meter pensioners received payment in 2024/25 in winter – a major fall from 10.8 meter pensioners, who received it a year ago.
The cut was deeply unpopular because they were seen as being unprotected for weak people being harmful, and was criticized for leaving thousands of poor pension that were missing from payment.
In November, it was discovered that the government’s own figures indicated that it would happen Force 100,000 pensioners in poverty in 2026.
The policy was partially convicted for the poor performance of labor in local elections-who lost two-thirds of the council seats in 2021 and also already improving the UK to improve the Labor-Aegend Runcorn and Helsbi parliamentary seats to improve the UK.
Cuts – combined with the party’s decision to keep £ 5BN welfare cuts and two child profit cap – has created a growing concern among the labor MPs towards the government.