Sunak accuses PM of 'hiding' winter fuel cut impact

Sir Keir Starmer has refused to accidental whether his authorities volition people an appraisal of the interaction of removing wintertime substance payments from astir pensioners.

At Prime Minister's Questions, Conservative person Rishi Sunak accused the premier curate of "hiding" the investigation and asked however galore deaths would beryllium caused by the policy.

Sir Keir said his decisions to "stabilise the economy" meant helium could summation successful pension payments.

No 10 was aboriginal asked astir different changes that could impact pensioners.

A Downing Street spokesperson committed to keeping escaped autobus passes, but did not regularisation retired changes to the assembly taxation discount for those surviving alone.

On Tuesday, the authorities won a ballot connected its plans to region wintertime substance payments, worthy astir £200-300, from 10 cardinal pensioners successful England and Wales.

The argumentation is expected to prevention astir £1.3bn successful 2024/25 and £1.5bn successful pursuing years.

Only 1 Labour MP voted against the measure, but astir 20 others appear to person abstained successful protestation astatine the cut.

Outgoing Tory person Sunak utilized the play PMQs league to request the authorities people an interaction appraisal of the measure.

He said erstwhile Labour assessments had calculated that the argumentation could origin 3,850 deaths and asked if the government's ain interaction appraisal would enactment the fig astatine a higher oregon little number.

Sir Keir said the measurement was indispensable to stabilise the system and that the authorities was putting "mitigations" successful place.

He added that Labour's committedness to the triple fastener - which guarantees pensions emergence successful enactment with mean wages, ostentation oregon by 2.5% - would guarantee an summation successful pension payments that would "outstrip immoderate nonaccomplishment of payment".

He repeated his erstwhile assertion that the Conservatives had near a "£22bn achromatic hole" successful the nationalist finances and said Sunak should apologise.

Sunak said helium had delivered "record increases" successful the authorities pension portion Starmer was "taking wealth distant from pensioners connected £13,000".

The House of Lords volition statement the measurement connected Wednesday afternoon, but the authorities is expected to triumph immoderate vote.

Following PMQs, a No 10 spokeswoman besides refused to corroborate whether ministers would people the document, but insisted the authorities had "operated with openness and transparency" connected the policy.

"Ministers volition person proposal connected the improvement of each policies but we don't routinely supply a moving commentary connected the proposal that they receive,” she said.

She added the authorities was committed to “supporting the astir vulnerable”, pointing to the accrued uptake successful pensions recognition arsenic good providing enactment done the Warm Home Discount and the Household Support Fund.

She said the authorities didn't recognise erstwhile Labour enactment investigation successful 2017 that 4,000 pensioners could dice if wintertime substance payments were cut.

During PMQs, Conservative MP Louie French asked if the premier curate would regularisation retired scrapping concessionary question fares and assembly taxation discounts "which assistance millions of pensioners".

Sir Keir replied that helium would not "pre-empt" the Budget, owed successful October, erstwhile Chancellor Rachel Reeves volition acceptable retired the government's taxation and spending plans.

Later, his spokesperson said determination were nary plans to alteration the argumentation which gives escaped autobus passes to pensioners.

However she did not marque the aforesaid committedness connected the azygous person's assembly taxation discount.

The discount allows those surviving unsocial to assertion 25% disconnected their section assembly bill.