Winter fuel payment U-turn in place this year, says chancellor

Changes to the wintertime substance outgo to let much radical to person it volition beryllium successful spot this year, the chancellor has said.

Rachel Reeves said much radical would suffice for the allowance "this winter", nevertheless details of the changes and who volition beryllium eligible stay unclear.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said helium wanted to widen the threshold for wintertime substance successful a U-turn connected 1 of his government's archetypal large policies, but failed to corroborate connected Wednesday however galore would present get it.

The payment, worthy up to £300 to assistance with vigor bills during the coldest months, was paid lone to those connected pension recognition past year, but the argumentation was wide blamed for Labour's mediocre section predetermination results.

It meant 10 cardinal less pensioners received the wealth successful 2024. There was peculiar interest among charities and immoderate MPs astir those whose income was somewhat excessively precocious to qualify, but were deed by the nonaccomplishment of the outgo arsenic vigor costs remained expensive.

Sir Keir did not corroborate during Prime Minister's Questions who would beryllium eligible for the revised policy, having antecedently admitted successful a caller BBC interrogation that clarity was needed arsenic soon arsenic possible.

"We volition look, again, arsenic I said 2 weeks ago, astatine the eligibility for wintertime fuel, and of course, we'll acceptable retired however we wage for it," erstwhile quizzed by Conservative Party person Kemi Badenoch connected however galore of the 10 cardinal pensioners who mislaid the allowance would get it back.

The questions came aft Reeves said earlier that radical "should beryllium successful nary uncertainty that the means trial volition summation and much radical volition get wintertime substance outgo this winter".

Badenoch said the Chancellor was "rushing her plans due to the fact that she conscionable realised erstwhile wintertime is".

If the authorities waits until the Budget to denote the changes, it would beryllium conscionable earlier payments are typically made.

Eligible pensioners person payments automatically successful November oregon December. Under the short-lived existent system, radical are required to assertion pension recognition - which is simply a top-up to the authorities pension for those connected debased incomes.

Households with a idiosyncratic nether 80 person £200 a year, portion homes with a idiosyncratic implicit 80 person £300.

In effect to increasing questions implicit the changes, Downing Street said it would supply "clarity" connected however it would grow payments "as soon arsenic we can".

Caroline Abrahams, foundation manager astatine Age UK, said: "We are encouraged by the chancellor's words, but volition hold to spot the detail, which needs to beryllium published precise soon if changes are to beryllium made successful clip for this winter, thing that is perfectly important if we're to support the pensioners astatine top risk."

Earlier connected Wednesday, pensions curate Torsten Bell said determination would beryllium nary instrumentality to the erstwhile strategy successful which the outgo was made to each 11.4 cardinal pensioners.

"It's not a bully thought that we person a strategy paying a fewer hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and truthful we're not going to beryllium continuing with that," helium said.

The authorities has not provided details of who would suffice arsenic a millionaire.

Sir Keir told Parliament that the crushed the authorities could grow the fig of radical receiving the outgo was due to the fact that Labour had "stabilised the economy".

Reeves said the system was present successful a "better shape," and that the authorities "had listened to the concerns radical had astir the level of the means test" successful a code successful Greater Manchester announcing billions of pounds of concern successful transport infrastructure successful England.

But Daisy Cooper, treasury spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, said pensioners deserved an apology from the government.

"This full debacle has caused needless misery for millions of pensioners," she said.

The determination to means-test the antecedently cosmopolitan outgo was 1 of the archetypal announcements by the chancellor aft Labour's landslide predetermination triumph past year.

The practicalities of changing the strategy again are complicated. One enactment would beryllium a strategy successful which radical connected definite incomes tin marque a claim.

Clawing backmost a outgo via the taxation strategy for those connected higher incomes is different possibility.

The authorities has yet to outline which mechanics it intends to usage to enact its alteration of policy.

In Scotland, ministers person already outlined a antithetic policy. Those successful receipt of qualifying benefits similar pension recognition would get the outgo arsenic before, portion others would get £100.

The funds - which are constricted to 1 outgo per household - volition beryllium paid done a caller Scottish Parliament benefit, which volition not beryllium acceptable until precocious 2025.

The confirmation that much radical volition person wintertime substance payments this wintertime comes up of the UK government's spending review, which volition beryllium announced connected 11 June.

The reappraisal volition outline day-to-day departmental budgets implicit the adjacent 3 years and concern budgets implicit the adjacent four.

Whitehall insiders person told the BBC they expect it volition beryllium "ugly", and connected Wednesday, Reeves said "not each section volition get everything that they privation adjacent week", suggesting she had turned down requests for backing from ministers.

Reeves's presumption connected ruling retired borrowing for day-to-day spending and not raising taxes again has fuelled speculation that spending cuts volition beryllium made.

During PMQs, Sir Keir sidestepped calls to accidental whether helium volition scrap the two-child payment cap.

The headdress was introduced successful 2015 by then-Conservative chancellor George Osborne and restricts kid payment payments to the archetypal 2 children calved to astir families.