Cut to winter fuel payment could kill 4,000 people

Millie Cooke, The Independent

Thousands of pensioners could die if the government proceeds with its plan to cut winter fuel payments for those not on benefits, Labour’s own research suggested. Analysis published in 2017, when Sir Keir Starmer was in the Shadow Cabinet, warned that Conservative plans to cut the fuel allowance for ten million pensioners would increase excess deaths by 3,850 that winter.

The proposal, put forward by Theresa May’s government, was dubbed the “single biggest attack on pensioners in a generation in our country”. The report has resurfaced just weeks after Rachel Reeves announced that older people not in receipt of pension credits or other means-tested benefits will no longer receive winter fuel payments from this year onwards.

Former pensions minister Baroness Altmann urged the government to U-turn on the planned cuts, claiming it may not be aware of the extent of poverty among pensioners.

She told Times Radio that the one to two million people slightly above the means test threshold “are poorer than those on pension credit and there is no mitigation for them”, adding: “The chancellor and the prime minister may not be aware of just how there are so many poor pensioners in this country and are focusing perhaps just on those who are very well off.”

The decision came as part of a series of spending cuts to address a black hole in the public finances left by the previous Conservative government announced in July by the chancellor.

The winter fuel payment is a payment of between £250 and £600 to help people over the age of 66 with their heating bills.

Around 10 million pensioners and seven million pensioner households are expected to be affected by the changes.

The report, published during the 2017 election ­campaign, warned: “Since the introduction of the winter fuel payment by Labour in 1997, allowing for significant variation in winter weather, deaths among the elderly have fallen from around 34,000 to 24,000.

“Half of the almost 10,000 decrease in so-called ‘excess winter deaths’ — the rise in mortality that occurs each winter — between 2000 and 2012 was due to the introduction of the winter fuel allowance.” Responding to the report, Labour MP Rachael Maskell told the Daily Mail: “My concern is that an NHS under extreme pressure will experience even more pressure if people who are fuel-poor are ending up there because they can’t heat their homes.

“Labour has got to find a solution to assure people they can get through this winter.” Meanwhile, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham called on Sir Keir to “do a U-turn” on the plans. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, she said the cuts are “completely wrong”, accusing the government of “picking the pocket of pensioners”.

Policing minister Dame Diana Johnson said she was “not surprised” at the reaction to the government’s decision to means test winter fuel payments.

This comes amid speculation that as many as 50 Labour MPs could rebel over the legislation. Dame Diana said: “I’m not surprised by the amount of concern that there is about this, and obviously we do not want to see anyone struggling with energy bills, particularly pensioners.

“The winter fuel allowance, we know is not a targeted benefit at the moment but it’s going to be targeted and that’s why it’s so important that the poorest pensioners are getting everything they’re entitled to to support them.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We do not recognise these figures. We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners through the triple lock which means that over 12 million pensioners will see their State Pensions increase by almost a thousand pounds over the next five years.

“Given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right that we target support to those who need it most. Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the Winter Fuel Payment, while many others will also benefit from the £150 Warm Home Discount from October to help with their energy bills over winter.”