Winter fuel cut to put 50,000 into poverty next year

An further 50,000 pensioners volition beryllium surviving successful comparative poorness adjacent twelvemonth arsenic a effect of cuts to the wintertime substance allowance, the government's ain estimates person revealed.

Earlier this year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the £300 outgo would beryllium restricted to each but the poorest pensioners - those eligible for pension credit.

In a bid to soften the interaction of the cuts, the authorities launched a run to promote eligible pensioners to use for pension credit.

In a missive clarifying the figures, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said the estimates did not instrumentality into relationship immoderate accrued take-up of pension credit.

She besides said the figures person been rounded to the nearest 50,000 and noted that the numbers fixed for each twelvemonth should not beryllium added together.

According to the estimates provided by the government, successful the twelvemonth ending March 2025, March 2026 and March 2028 determination volition beryllium an further 50,000 pensioners successful comparative poorness aft lodging costs.

In the twelvemonth ending March 2027, March 2029 and March 2030 an further 100,000 pensioners would beryllium successful comparative poorness aft lodging costs, the estimates say.

Currently the authorities estimates 1.9 cardinal pensioners - astir 15% - are successful comparative poverty.

The caller estimates, published connected Tuesday, suggest the cuts to the wintertime substance outgo would summation pensioner poorness by 0.5 percent points.

A idiosyncratic is considered to beryllium surviving successful comparative poorness if they person little than 60% of the median income.

In her letter, Kendall said the enactment and pensions section had written to 120,000 pensioners to promote them to assertion the pension recognition to which they whitethorn beryllium entitled.

She added that the determination to chopped the wintertime substance payments was "not a determination this authorities wanted oregon expected to take".

"However, we were forced to instrumentality hard decisions to equilibrium the books successful airy of the £22bn achromatic spread we inherited.

"Given the dire authorities of the nationalist finances, it’s close that we people enactment to those who request it most."

Helen Whately, the Conservatives' shadiness enactment and pensions secretary, said: "Finally the dam breaks and we get to spot what Labour person known each along.

"Their wintertime substance outgo cuts are going to plunge 100,000 pensioners into poorness successful the adjacent fewer years.

"Clearly Keir Starmer feels similar that's a terms worthy paying to marque a governmental point. But I don't deliberation those pensioners would hold with him."

Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats' Treasury spokesperson, said: “While the Conservatives undoubtedly near this authorities a dire fiscal inheritance, that's nary excuse to propulsion much pensioners into poorness arsenic the somesthesia plummets."

During a property league successful Brazil, wherever the premier curate is presently attending a G20 summit, Sir Keir Starmer was asked astir the figures.

He said that the authorities pension would emergence by £470 successful the outpouring and that pensioners would beryllium amended off.

Earlier successful the day, Scottish Labour person Anas Sarwar diverged from Sir Keir by pledging to summation eligibility for pension recognition if they formed the adjacent government.