The National Pensioners’ Convention welcomes news the government is to reinstate the winter fuel payment to nine million older people.
This is a major win for the NPC’s hard fought campaign to restore vital payments to help with energy bills since they were slashed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves a year ago.
On Monday, June 9, the Chancellor announced that everyone over the state pension age in England and Wales with an income of £35,000 or less a year, around 75 per cent across the two nations, will receive the payment this winter.
NPC and campaign partners Unite the Union heard the news while demonstrating at the gates of Downing Street to call on the Chancellor to come clean on a suggested policy U-turn.
And there were massive cheers from our members when they heard the breaking news.
Jan Shortt, general secretary of the NPC said: “We welcome the change of direction by the Chancellor over the winter fuel payment for the coming winter.
“It is a victory for common sense and proves the government has finally listened to our voices.
“However, there is still no recognition of the devastating impact the withdrawal had on older people over December 2024 to February 2025.
“Statistics show that older people were switching off appliances, rationing the use of energy, cutting down on food and other household bills after losing the payment.
“Many will now be in debt to their energy provider, with some taking out loans to pay bills at enormous interest.
“We believe it is only fair that the government pays compensation for older people who were living in freezing conditions whilst MPs were claiming their energy costs for their second homes.
“We ask the Prime Minister to apologise to the nation for the inappropriate withdrawal of the winter fuel allowance without mandate and consultation in the first place.
“He must also ensure that older people are protected from similar knee-jerk decisions in the future, starting with the appointment of a Commissioner for Older People in England and Scotland as they have in Wales and Northern Ireland.”
More than three-quarters of pensioners in England and Wales will be entitled to the winter fuel payment, and we hope that governments of Northern Ireland and Scotland will now follow suit.
Last July, the Chancellor announced cuts to the winter fuel payment, a lump sum of £200 a year for households with a pensioner under 80, or £300 for households with a pensioner over 80, in a bid to save an estimated £1.4bn.
The payment was limited to those receiving pension credit or other means – tested benefit, which saw millions miss out.
Unite and the National Pensioners Convention have been campaigning for full reinstatement of the winter fuel payment.
The devil is in the details, but it is thought that every pensioner will receive it, with those with incomes over £35,000 having their allowances clawed back through the tax system.
It means that the overall policy will save £450m, versus the universal system. In other words, £1.25bn of the £1.7bn projected saving when this policy was announced is gone.
Rodney Sadd
Crowland
