North East MPs react to Rachel Reeves' winter fuel payment announcement
North East MPs have welcomed the news nine million pensioners will receive a winter fuel payout again this year.
The Chancellor announced a £1.25bn U-turn today (Monday, June 9) which will see the payment worth up to £300 restored for the vast majority of pensioners.
It will mean all OAPs with an income of under £35,000 will automatically receive the amount, after the payment was initially scrapped last year for all but the worst-off pensioners.
Confirming the U-turn, Rachel Reeves said the Government had 'listened to people's concerns' about the decision to limit the payment to the poorest pensioners last winter, and was now able to widen eligibility because Labour had restored 'stability' to the economy.
Durham MP Mary Kelly Foy said: 'I'm delighted the Government has listened to the voices of those impacted by the loss of Winter Fuel Allowance, and to campaigners, charities and MPs who have been advocating for it be either be re-introduced, or for the cut off threshold to be extended to ensure more people are eligible.
'I made my opposition to these cuts clear at the time, and have continued to advocate for the Government to change course. It's good news more people will benefit from this payment this year, but the Government must ensure decisions made going forward protect vulnerable groups, rather than push them further into poverty.
Ms Foy called for a U-turn on the Government's policy last year.
Read next:
Craig Yorke: Girls tell jury defendant had weapons in car before alleged murder
Prosecco-launching booze thief who flung bottle at Tesco staff barred from Darlington
Call for speed bumps on 'lethal' County Durham road after boy, 9, hit by car
lick here to join our WhatsApp community and get breaking news updates direct to your phone.
Luke Myer, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, said: 'This is a positive and long-overdue step to support older people through the winter.
"I'm pleased the Treasury have listened to me and other MPs who expressed concern about the threshold.
'Raising the threshold will help pensioners across Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland to stay warm and well. But we also need to see faster action to bring down bills in the long term and end the unfair postcode lottery for fuel poverty in our region.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Reeves takes gamble on patience in an era of impatience
The hours, days, weeks and even months after a Spending Review can feel like peeling away the layers of an onion. First, there is the speech from the chancellor in the Commons: the political rhetoric and the numbers often designed to sound big but which are often incomprehensible. Then there are accompanying documents - in this instance in particular a blue-covered, 128-page tome crammed with words, numbers and graphs. The work of months, much of it conducted privately with intermittent blasts of authorised and unauthorised briefing, talking up and grumbling, then suddenly bursts out in public demanding digestion. But that takes time. And as the detail is pored over, elements that were not put up in lights by the chancellor become clearer. A good example is the expectation many, many people in England and Wales will be paying higher council tax to help fund the police - something not set out explicitly by Rachel Reeves at the dispatch box. More details on what is planned are expected in the coming weeks - with the government's infrastructure plans due to be set out shortly. But other elements could take much longer to play out: for example, an obscure budget in a particular department that was culled, only for an outcry in six months time. Or, conversely, a budget that hasn't been culled but is later determined to be a waste of money. Seven ways the Spending Review affects you Winners and losers: Who got what in the review? What has the chancellor has announced? The key points Watch: Where the money is being spent The government is seeking to badge this moment as a turning point. The prime minister told the Cabinet and has now written in the Guardian that "this week we bettered a new stage in the mission for national renewal. Last autumn we fixed the foundations. Today we showed Britain we will rebuild." Let's see. The curiosity here is the standard critique of political leaders is turned on its head with much of this Spending Review. So often the grumble is one of short-termism, the quick win, the lack of strategic long term thought. And yet the gamble the government has taken is a willingness for patience in an era of impatience. Long term, so called capital spending, can - the argument goes - transform the public realm and in so doing transform economic potential. But it doesn't happen quickly and day-to-day spending is limited, even cut in places. And this at a time of volatile politics and a restlessness among an electorate, many of whom feel squeezed and have done for years and years. The Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged to me there was an impatience for change - the very thing Labour promised - and pointed to an expansion of entitlement to free school meals and breakfast clubs in England, for instance. The big bet though remains on economic growth - finding it and sustaining it. The lack of it is the shackle on so much within government and beyond: the national mood, taxes, you name it. And yes the prospect of more tax rises in the autumn will hang in the air all summer. But the big test of this Spending Review is the contribution it can make to delivering growth - and when. Key points at a glance from the Spending Review Reeves boosts NHS and housing as some budgets squeezed
E&E News
44 minutes ago
- E&E News
National Park Service adds more projects to NEPA exclusion list
Completing a job initiated by the Biden administration, the National Park Service on Wednesday announced 33 types of projects that will no longer require the most extensive environmental reviews. The so-called categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act are designed to speed work on projects deemed not to have significant environmental impacts. 'The Department of the Interior is focused on streamlining government processes that have slowed progress for too long,' Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. 'These reforms will help the National Park Service act more efficiently while continuing to uphold environmental standards.' Advertisement NPS cited examples that include infrastructure upgrades, communications improvements, rights-of-way authorizations, cultural and natural resource management, recreation access and emergency response efforts.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
New Zealand's Willis Criticizes RBNZ Handling of Orr Resignation
New Zealand Finance Minister Nicola Willis has criticized the Reserve Bank for its handling of former governor Adrian Orr's resignation, saying it should have been more transparent about his reason for quitting. 'It's my expectation that all government agencies comply with their statutory obligations and wherever possible are open and transparent with New Zealanders,' Willis told reporters on Thursday. 'Of course they need to balance that against their legal obligations when it comes to employment discussions and agreements, but on this one I think they could have pulled their socks up.'
