860k Scottish pensioners face 'particularly cruel' winter fuel payment cut due to 2C colder weather

Labour Party members had a vote delayed on the cuts to winter fuel payments - a leading charity says it will adversely affect Scottish pensioners.

The UK government’s decision to scrap universal winter fuel payments has been branded “particularly cruel” for Scottish pensioners, who are “already increasingly affected” by fuel poverty.

Charity Age Scotland warned Scottish pensioners would be adversely affected by cuts to winter fuel payments due to colder temperatures north of the Border and living in homes that are harder to heat.

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The warning came as the Unite trade union branded the decision to delay an expected vote at Labour party conference on the fuel payment cut an “outrage”.

The non-binding vote had been expected on Monday, coinciding with the keynote speech from Chancellor Rachel Reeves. But the vote, which calls on the government to reverse cuts to the payment, is now expected on Wednesday - 24 hours after the scheduled speech from Sir Keir Starmer.

Ms Reeves said on Monday her government would not U-turn on the decision to means test the payment, regardless of the outcome of the vote.

Age Scotland has said the winter fuel payment cut is especially impacting on pensioners north of the Border. Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesAge Scotland has said the winter fuel payment cut is especially impacting on pensioners north of the Border. Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Age Scotland has said the winter fuel payment cut is especially impacting on pensioners north of the Border. Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images | Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Katherine Crawford, chief executive of Age Scotland, told The Scotsman: “Older people in Scotland are already increasingly affected by fuel poverty as they are more likely to live on a fixed income, in a rural community, or have an older, hard-to-heat home.

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“With energy costs also projected to rise by 10 per cent just as we enter the coldest months of the year, the UK government’s rushed decision to means test the winter fuel payments feels particularly cruel.”

An estimated 860,000 pensioners are due to be impacted by the payment cut in Scotland. Daily temperatures on average 2C colder north of the Border across January and February compared to England and Wales are likely to exacerbate the impact.

For the first time ever, winter fuel payments are being devolved to Holyrood this year. When the Chancellor first announced the decision to means test the payments in a bid to plug a £22 billion black hole in public finances, the Scottish Government said it wanted to keep the payments universal.

However, the SNP Government in Holyrood was forced to follow suit due to a lack of funds.

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to rush in means-testing of the winter fuel payments made to pensioners has dominated the early weeks of the new Labour government, and could become a defining mistake (Picture: Hollie Adams)Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to rush in means-testing of the winter fuel payments made to pensioners has dominated the early weeks of the new Labour government, and could become a defining mistake (Picture: Hollie Adams)
Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to rush in means-testing of the winter fuel payments made to pensioners has dominated the early weeks of the new Labour government, and could become a defining mistake (Picture: Hollie Adams) | Getty Images

Ms Crawford said the cuts would cause “serious problems” for hundreds of thousands of older people in Scotland.

She said: “Without the ability to adequately heat their homes without fear of falling into unmanageable debt, older people will be spending longer periods in colder homes, eating fewer hot meals, and will be at greater risk of health problems such as heart, respiratory and circulatory diseases.

“Given that only 12 per cent of pensioners are guaranteed to keep their winter fuel payments under the new eligibility criteria and a severe lack of support has been outlined for those just above the line for pension credit, this decision spells disaster for huge numbers of pensioners this winter.”

The vote coincided with pensioners staging a protest outside Labour’s annual conference on Monday to criticise the fuel allowance cut. Retired members of the Unite union held up banners reading: “Freeze profits not people”, and “Defend the winter fuel payment”.

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SNP MP Dave Doogan told BBC Scotland: “People up and down these islands who voted Labour are now thinking they backed the wrong horse here, especially in Scotland where 37 Labour MPs are lining up to defend the indefensible.

“They are sending people in the coldest part of this island into poverty by stripping them of winter fuel payments, something which formed no part of their manifesto ahead of the election, but think it is normal to do so after the election.”

An Age UK online petition to reverse the decision has already been signed by almost 530,000 people. There is already discontent at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, as the debate and vote on winter fuel payments was delayed.

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Andy Greene, from union Unite, said: “This is simply an attempt to take out the debate on the winter fuel allowance.”

Losing this vote would be embarrassing for the UK government, but it would not force a U-turn on the policy. Speaking on Monday morning to LBC, Ms Reeves said: “We’ve already had a vote in Parliament where it was overwhelmingly passed.

“This isn’t the decision that I wanted to make. It wasn’t a decision that I expected to make, but given the state of the public finances that I inherited, I think it was right to restrict winter fuel payments to the poorest pensioners.”

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