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Winter Fuel Payment 2025-03-19
19 March 2025
Lead MP
Helen Whately
Debate Type
General Debate
Tags
ImmigrationNHSSocial CareEconomyTaxationHousing
Other Contributors: 76
At a Glance
Helen Whately raised concerns about winter fuel payment 2025-03-19 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Opened the debate
Calls on the Government to publish data on pensioners who missed out on Winter Fuel Payment, impact of changes on levels of pensioner poverty and hospital admissions, plans for ensuring Pension Credit recipients receive it before winter 2025-26, and an apology for causing misery to vulnerable pensioners.
Harriet Cross
Con
Gordon and Buchan
Recalls Government's claim that the cut would affect only the wealthiest, but argues that many affected are on low incomes.
Mark Pritchard
Con
The Wrekin
Questions Labour MPs' absence from the debate and their stance on supporting pensioners.
Paul Holmes
Con
Hamble Valley
Anticipates a lack of sympathy from the Government Minister, expecting to see similar attitudes as in recent media appearances.
Luke Evans
Con
Hinckley and Bosworth
Highlights delays in processing pension credit applications, which affected access to Winter Fuel Payment during cold periods.
Deirdre Costigan
Lab
Ealing Southall
Asked Helen Whately to be honest with the House regarding the impact of means-testing on pensioners.
Roger Gale
Con
Herne Bay and Sandwich
Agreed that it was right to address the issue of working individuals receiving winter fuel allowance, but opposed taking money from poorest pensioners. Supported Conservative policy in contrast to Labour's impact on pensioners.
Wendy Morton
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
Pressed Minister for clarity on responsible decision-making regarding winter fuel payment cuts, highlighting concerns of pensioners who are worried about heating costs.
Jonathan Brash
Lab
Hartlepool
Congratulated Hartlepool citizens advice bureau for raising additional income for pensioners through better benefit claim support. Acknowledged proactive approach to helping pensioners receive benefits they are entitled to.
Saqib Bhatti
Con
Meriden and Solihull East
Questioned the Minister on Government analysis indicating 100,000 pensioners being pushed into poverty by cuts. Highlighted need for responsible policy choices.
Suella Braverman
Con
Fareham and Waterlooville
Emphasised the harsh reality faced by constituents due to winter fuel payment cuts, stating that forcing pensioners into poverty is irresponsible. Highlighted personal stories of hardship.
Wendy Morton
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
Welcomes the Government's efforts but argues that the campaign does not reach pensioners too proud to come forward. Mentions the loss of the £300 winter fuel allowance as a lifeline for these hard-working pensioners.
Torsten Bell
Con
City of Chester
Acknowledges Wendy Morton's point about barriers faced by certain groups and emphasises the importance of awareness campaigns. Defends the Government’s financial management, highlighting efforts to improve living standards for pensioners through increased take-up of pension credit.
Melanie Ward
Lab
Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy
Critiques the Minister's statement about quality over quantity of supporters behind him, referencing the £22 billion financial black hole left by previous irresponsible financial management.
James Wild
Con
North West Norfolk
Asks for a chance to speak but is deferred by the Minister due to time constraints.
Maidenhead
Raises concerns about residents in Maidenhead who are not eligible for pension credit and highlights the difficult choices they face regarding energy bills or savings. Questions whether this represents a positive change introduced by the Government.
Questions whether research was conducted on the impact of removing winter fuel allowance, citing previous work done under Labour in 2017 that showed potential excess mortality due to colder homes. Asks for clarity on current data regarding this issue.
Torsten Bell
Con
City of Chester
Responds to Dr Murrison's concerns by stating there is no robust analysis separating out different causes of winter excess mortality and notes that deaths have actually come down in the current winter period.
Points out inconsistencies between applications and awards for pension credit, highlighting those who are right on the cusp but not eligible. Asks what support is available to these individuals who feel entitled to pension credit.
Chingford and Woodford Green
Considers a review of winter fuel payments based on previous assessments showing significant negative impacts on those right on the cusp of poverty. Questions whether rejecting this policy is necessary to avoid impoverishing pensioners.
Honiton and Sidmouth
Raises concerns about pensioners being pushed just over the pension credit threshold, resulting in them being worse off than those on lower incomes. Suggests introducing a taper to mitigate this issue.
References a Resolution Foundation paper that predicts gloomy living standards due to tax rises and lacklustre economic growth. Questions the direct correlation between these cuts and their impact on vulnerable pensioners in different constituencies.
Sarah Dyke
LD
Glastonbury and Somerton
Asked the Minister to develop a rural winter fuel poverty strategy for off-grid pensioners who are suffering now.
James Wild
Con
Asked if the Government is happy that millions of pensioners will have to start paying income tax due to changes made by previous governments.
Lewis Cocking
Con
Broxbourne
Noted Labour's hypocrisy in opposing the winter fuel payment change while supporting it in their 2017 manifesto.
Torbay
Disappointed with Chancellor's autumn Budget, which increased pensioner poverty. The scrapping of the winter fuel allowance means 100,000 more pensioners in relative poverty and significant delays in claims for benefits.
Louise Jones
Lab
North East Derbyshire
Critiqued the Government's decision to scrap the winter fuel payment and highlighted Labour’s achievements from 1997, such as reducing pensioner poverty and introducing key legislation.
Julia Lopez
Con
Hornchurch and Upminster
Questions Labour's framing of necessary budget cuts while pointing out examples of other expenditures by the party. Expresses pensioners' confusion over simultaneous need to cut winter fuel payments and spending on various projects.
Oliver Ryan
Ind
Burnley
Supports Louise Jones's argument that providing triple lock for pensions is a clear manifesto commitment of the Government, stressing the importance of this policy compared to previous ones under the Conservative party.
Questions the fairness of large sums being given to train drivers and projects like GB Energy while winter fuel payments are cut for pensioners. Emphasises the need to protect pensioners who have worked their whole lives.
Harriet Cross
Con
Folkestone and Hythe
Asks about GB Energy's role in reducing energy bills, questioning its effectiveness if it does not fall under its remit.
Supports Louise Jones by highlighting that the winter fuel payment is devolved to the Scottish Government and can be adjusted there. Calls out SNP Member for Aberdeen North for her silence on this issue.
Lewis Cocking
Lab
Bolton West
Challenges Louise Jones about the inconsistency between her party's election manifesto that did not include removing winter fuel payments and her current support of the Government's policy. Asks if she regrets her position now.
Intervenes to correct a historical fact, stating that David Cameron introduced the triple lock on pensions.
Gordon McKee
Lab
Glasgow South
Asked Joy Morrissey whether it is clear that the Conservative party will reintroduce a universal winter fuel payment at the next election.
Agrees with Joy Morrissey, stating that Labour's decision on the winter fuel payment was not in their manifesto and brought forward without an impact assessment.
Joe Morris
Lab
Hexham
Challenges the Conservative party about transparency and honesty, suggesting they concealed the true state of public finances from the Labour party when preparing for government.
Calum Miller
LD
Bicester and Woodstock
Asked Joy Morrissey to set out the basis for the Conservative party abandoning UK’s net zero targets.
John Glen
Con
Salisbury
Recalled that when he was Paymaster General, officials asked whether they would remove the winter fuel payment. He knew it would negatively impact 71% of pensioners with disabilities and chose not to do so.
John Hayes
Con
South Holland and The Deepings
Suggests that new Ministers, like those in Labour government, might be naive and allow previously rejected ideas to be put forward again.
Josh Simons
Lab
Makerfield
Argues the importance of making decisions based on principle rather than necessity. Supports targeting winter fuel payments based on need but acknowledges that many pensioners are struggling despite rises in state pensions.
Joe Robertson
Con
The hon. Member questioned if someone earning £13,500 is too rich to receive a winter fuel payment, challenging the principle behind the policy change.
Luke Evans
Con
The right hon. Member criticised the Conservative Party for failing to act on issues such as NHS inefficiencies and flooding during their tenure in power.
Alison Griffiths
Con
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
She questioned whether pensioners would feel anger towards the Labour Government, suggesting that pensioners may be more critical of the changes made by the current administration.
Alberto Costa
Con
South Leicestershire
The hon. Member defended the Conservative Party's record on protecting vulnerable pensioners and criticised the Labour Government for increasing salaries for train drivers while removing winter fuel payments, which he argued was a betrayal of those in need.
Louise Jones
Lab
She questioned whether the hon. Member supports pay rises for public sector workers such as soldiers and nurses.
Saqib Bhatti
Con
The hon. Member supported his colleague's argument, emphasising that the only people asked to make sacrifices were poor pensioners while train drivers received exorbitant pay increases.
Harriet Cross
Con
Bexleyheath and Crayford
Asked if Government Members would make the same decision again, highlighting that the previous Labour government also had to take difficult decisions.
Joe Robertson
SNP
Glasgow North West
Offered an alternative to withdrawing winter fuel payments: scrap GB Energy, do not give money to Mauritius and restore the winter fuel payment. Criticised the government for taking difficult decisions but not supporting alternatives.
Alison Griffiths
Lab
Cardiff North
Acknowledged that there is not a £22 billion black hole as claimed by the current government, and pointed out that effects of covid and war are part of the issue. Criticised spending on asylum hotels and train drivers' pay rises.
Saqib Bhatti
Lab
Slough
Asked about market turbulence and referred to it as once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, stating that they would have made different choices from the current government. Criticised the Conservative party for arguing against stripping out covid effects.
Alberto Costa
Con
Oxford West and Abingdon
Acknowledged pensioners' challenges but emphasised their inability to earn money compared to those still working, supporting the government's decision on winter fuel payments for those in receipt of pension credit.
Anna Sabine
LD
Frome and East Somerset
Disappointed by stripping vital support from poorest pensioners despite financial situation inherited. Received hundreds of emails from concerned pensioners about energy bills this winter.
Matthew Patrick
Lab
Wirral West
Pays tribute to pensioners in his constituency who have made immeasurable contributions. Criticises Tory mismanagement leading to spiralling inflation, long NHS waiting times and an unfit-for-purpose social care system. Highlights the household support fund providing help for those just below the threshold. Emphasises Labour's commitment to protecting pensioners' incomes with measures such as ending plans to drag pensioners into paying income tax and uprating personal tax thresholds.
Points out that it is the poorest pensioners who are losing out, not those earning just above £13,500. Advocates for focusing on vulnerable pensioners rather than discussing wealthy individuals like Richard Branson.
Luke Murphy
Lab
Basingstoke
Questions why the Conservative party did not address underclaimed pension credit which has 700,000 people missing out if they genuinely cared about vulnerable pensioners.
Acknowledges that removing winter fuel payment for higher-income individuals may be desirable but argues it needs a mechanism to verify vulnerability. Defends the difficult choices faced by the government and supports the household support fund as available help.
Karen Bradley
Con
Staffordshire Moorlands
It is an honour to take part in this debate, and this is an extremely pertinent time for it. We all hope we are through the worst of the winter—although in my part of the world nobody puts their snow boots away until we have got through lambing season, because lambing storms usually bring snow—but we need to know, as we get through the winter and into the better weather, what the impact of this policy decision has been on our pensioners, on our health service, on A&E admissions and on other allowances and benefits. We need to know the overall cost of the decision. The hon. Member for Makerfield (Josh Simons), who is no longer in his place, suggested that he has more pensioners in his constituency than anyone else. Having checked with the House of Commons Library as I sat here, I assure him that Staffordshire Moorlands has more, because we have 22,197 compared with his 20,909. Of those 22,197, over 20,000 of them have been affected by this decision, and Staffordshire Moorlands, as the name suggests, is not exactly warm.
Kirsty Blackman
SNP
Aberdeen North
I start by acknowledging the clear impact that I have had on the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward). I am not sure why or how I have had that impact, but it was clear that she was drastically upset at me, despite the fact that I had been sitting quietly throughout the debate until that point. I will talk about why the Labour Government took this decision—why the Chancellor’s first decision was to target pensioners. It was because the Government talked in their manifesto about the fiscal rules that they would put in place, and said that they would not raise taxes on working people, among a number of other policies.
Wendy Morton
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
I know that, for the Government Front Benchers, I may well be repeating myself, but I think I need to: £300 may not seem like a lot of money, but believe you me, for the thousands of pensioners in my constituency and up and down the country who have missed out on their winter fuel payment, it is a lot. As we have heard this afternoon, and as Labour Members know, it is the difference between heating and eating. What does the Minister say to someone who is terminally ill or has a life-threatening illness, is just over the pension credit limit, and misses out because of the Labour Government’s callous policy? Does the Minister accept the finding that the chance of an over-65-year-old being admitted to hospital or A&E this winter increased by 9% compared with 2023-24—an increase of 76,190 patients?
Joe Robertson
Con
Isle of Wight East
The debate atmosphere has been strange with Government Members showing arrogance rather than humility. Pensioners will suffer as a result of this decision, and the number of pensioners seeking emergency care has increased by 5% over the winter.
Luke Myer
Lab
Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
The motion calls for those eligible for Pension Credit to receive it. Despite criticism, there is no movement in pension credit take-up under the current government, despite previous promises by the Conservative party.
Gregory Stafford
Con
Farnham and Bordon
The decision to withdraw the winter fuel payment from those earning £13,500 is a cruel policy leading to excess deaths. In Farnham and Bordon alone, over 18,200 pensioners have lost this payment without an impact assessment being conducted.
Alison Griffiths
Con
Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
The Government's economic mismanagement is forcing elderly individuals in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton to make impossible choices during winter. Nearly 90% of the constituency’s pensioners will lose their fuel payment, leading to increased strain on health services.
John Slinger
Lab
Rugby
Labour MPs are complicit in taking away winter fuel payments, affecting 71% of disabled pensioners. This has led to a £169 million cost increase for the NHS as it deals with more health issues from colder homes.
Gregory Stafford
Con
Supports Mr Bedford's position that removing winter fuel payments does not benefit the NHS, citing the chief executive of NHS England who stated that every penny put into the NHS is offset by national insurance rises, inflation, and drug price increases.
Lewis Cocking
Con
Broxbourne
Voters knew they would face difficult choices under a Labour government but were not prepared for policies like removing winter fuel payments which were not part of the manifesto. He criticises the Government's failure to deliver on promises such as reducing energy bills by £300.
Bradley Thomas
Con
Agrees with Lewis Cocking that the removal of winter fuel payment is unjustified and not in line with what voters expected. He emphasises the importance of policies for securing domestic oil and gas production to lower energy bills.
Witney
Proposes joining a single market in electricity with Europe to reduce Britain's electricity bills, disagreeing with Lewis Cocking who favours increasing domestic oil and gas production instead.
Mark Ferguson
Con
Bromsgrove
Questions whether Labour will provide clarity on their stance regarding the winter fuel allowance and asks if they would reverse the policy.
Oliver Dowden
Con
Hertsmere
Points out that in every election campaign, Labour runs a scare story about cutting the winter fuel payment but then removes it once elected. He criticises Labour for betraying trust and causing upset among constituents.
Andrew Western
Lab
Work and Pensions
Defends Labour's decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance, stating that difficult decisions were necessary after 14 years of Conservative governance. He highlights increased investment in NHS through a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending.
Wendy Morton
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
Questions the Minister's statistics on hospital admissions, arguing that his policy towards pensioners is causing increased pressure on NHS services.
Andrew Western
Con
The Government recognises the struggle many face in affording energy bills and acknowledges rising energy debt. They engage continuously with energy suppliers to support vulnerable consumers, including pensioners. The warm home discount scheme is expanded to reach around 6 million households next winter.
Harriet Cross
Lab
According to the impact assessment, about 100,000 pensioners could be pushed into poverty by changes to winter fuel payments. She asked for clarification on the range of uncertainty around this figure.
Andrew Western
Con
Responded to criticism by highlighting that under Labour, 300,000 pensioners were pushed into relative poverty. He criticised the Conservative party for being inhumane and driving people to food banks.
Ben Obese-Jecty
Lab
Asked at what point uptake of pension credit would eliminate savings from cancelling winter fuel payment, suggesting neither side is clear on policy specifics.
Government Response
The changes to the winter fuel payment have been made in a responsible manner, ensuring economic prudence and supporting public services. The policy targets lower-income pensioners by focusing on those who receive pension credit or other income-related benefits. Winter fuel payments will rise by 4.1% in April and £26 billion has been allocated to the NHS. The Government's campaign has seen a significant increase in pension credit applications and awards since September. The Minister acknowledges challenges with awareness barriers but emphasises the importance of continuing to drive take-up through additional measures such as writing to all pensioners claiming housing benefit who appear entitled to pension credit. The Government is committed to delivering on the triple lock throughout this Parliament. Spending on the state pension is forecast to rise by over £31 billion during this Parliament, benefiting over 12 million pensioners. The Minister defended the Conservative record on pensioner poverty and criticised Labour's previous policy decisions. Defends Labour's decision to means-test the winter fuel payment and highlights government efforts to rebuild public services through a £22.6 billion increase in day-to-day health spending. Emphasises that pensioner poverty is a concern, but the benefit system provides support for low-income pensioners.
Shadow Response
None
Shadow Response
The shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions does not appear to have made a speech in this particular debate. The removal of winter fuel payments is cruel and unnecessary, affecting millions of pensioners. It reflects poorly on the Labour Government’s commitment to vulnerable people. The decision also exacerbates pressures on services like GPs, hospices, pharmacies, care homes, farmers, and small businesses. The shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions criticised the Conservative party's record on pensioners and energy support, questioning their ability to propose a clear policy in this area.
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