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DWP winter fuel payments to be paid to nine million pensioners this winter after u-turn

DWP winter fuel payments to be paid to nine million pensioners this winter after u-turn

Yahoo2 days ago

Nine million pensioners in England and Wales will receive the winter fuel payment this winter after a government u-turn, it has been announced.
The £300 payment has been restored to the vast majority of pensioners who previously received it, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
Anyone with an income of under £35,000 a year will now get the payment automatically.
READ MORE: DWP State Pension change for people born between these dates
READ MORE: Full list of people eligible for free bus pass under new DWP rules
Pensioners with an income above this threshold will also receive the payment - but it will then be reclaimed from them in tax.
To be eligible for the winter fuel allowance, a person will need to have reached state pension age by the week starting September 15 this year.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: 'Targeting winter fuel payments was a tough decision but the right decision because of the inheritance we had been left by the previous government.
'It is also right that we continue to means test this payment so that it is targeted and fair, rather than restoring eligibility to everyone including the wealthiest.
'But we have now acted to expand the eligibility of the winter fuel payment so no pensioner on a lower income will miss out.
'This will mean over three-quarters of pensioners receiving the payment in England and Wales later this winter.'
The decision to limit the winter fuel payment to only those who claimed pension credit was one of Labour's first acts in Government, aimed at balancing what was described as a £22 billion 'black hole' in the public finances.
This meant the number of pensioners receiving the payment was reduced by around 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million.
Sir Keir Starmer announced there would be a partial U-turn on the policy in May, after it was thought to have contributed to Labour's drubbing in the local elections.
The Treasury claims the new arrangement will cost £1.25 billion in England and Wales, while means-testing winter fuel will save the taxpayer £450 million.
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When is the spending review and what might Rachel Reeves announce?
When is the spending review and what might Rachel Reeves announce?

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When is the spending review and what might Rachel Reeves announce?

All eyes are on the Treasury this week as Rachel Reeves is set to lay out her spending review to Parliament on Wednesday. She'll announce the Government's day-to-day spending commitments up to 2028-29, and investment spending plans to 2029-30 – but there have been varying reports of what we can expect. Here, Telegraph Money takes you through what we know and what the plans could mean for you. Spending reviews take place every few years, and it is when the Government lays out all spending that can be reasonably planned. The plans account for around 40pc of all public spending, according to the House of Commons Library, with the rest dependent on demands such as the benefits bill. The last multi-year spending review was in 2021 under Boris Johnson's Conservative administration. In the run-up to the review, government departments have been in negotiations with the Treasury to try to secure as much funding as they can. The current review process was launched in December last year, and the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said it could be 'one of the most significant domestic policy events of this parliament'. However, Ms Reeves has warned that 'not every department will get everything that they want', as she has had to 'say no' to things that she would support in an ideal world. Many departments are expecting a real-terms cut in their funding. The Government previously said that the review is 'zero-based', meaning that decisions will be made based on an assessment of spending line by line, rather than an overall increase or decrease to the current budget. The Chancellor will stand up in the House of Commons on Wednesday June 11 after Prime Minister's Questions, at roughly 12.30pm. Once Ms Reeves has finished speaking the review will be published on the government website, along with any accompanying documents. Some government spending plans have already been announced. Last week, Reeves announced £15.6bn of funding for regional transport, and the Government has confirmed a partial U-turn on the decision to remove winter fuel payments from all but the poorest pensioners. The Treasury has today announced that nine million pensioners will receive winter fuel payments this winter as a result. It has also been reported that the Chancellor will focus on three priorities in the spending review: health, security and the economy. This means spending on the NHS, defence and infrastructure, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper understood to be putting in a final plea for more police funding. There are also suggestions that the two-child benefit cap may be lifted, and schools are understood to be in line for £4.5bn uplift. Funding these plans may be tricky, however. Ms Reeves has confirmed she will be sticking to the Government's non-negotiable fiscal rules on borrowing. 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What to Expect From Reeves' UK Spending Review
What to Expect From Reeves' UK Spending Review

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What to Expect From Reeves' UK Spending Review

00:00 James, what can we expect then from this spending review for the chancellor. A crucial day for her and her team. What are you going to be scrutinizing? I mean, the reason it's crucial is this is a fifth of the UK economy in size 600 billion a year. We know that 200 billion is going to be the NHS, 39 billion defence. 94 in education, what is happening to the rest and also what is happening to the 134 billion they've put aside for capital investment? Of that we expect to see some go to housing roughly 40 billion and some get around investment. They've announced that 15 billion. This is the moment that Rachel Reeves says I was elected a Labour chancellor to do X and we find out what X is today and they're going to lean in. The expectations are they will lean in to that £134 billion, I should say, capital expenditures plan. That's the kind of headline they want to be pushing. What what is this going to mean for that for the chancellor who's seen the ratings in terms of the polls, not just for her, but the prime minister as well plummet on some of these decisions? Is this kind of a break, a make or break moment for the chancellor? How decisive is this moment going to be for that for the head of the UK Treasury? The way I would explain it is today we are casting a political die as the government, not the polls, not the politics, but the economics. The cold, hard cash. The shape of the next election will be decided today. The last spending review was done in Covid by Rishi Sunak, the one before that was 2015 pre Brexit. That's the kind of size of the event we are talking about today. And like you say, this could be the comeback moment for the Chancellor. Where growth comes from, this investment comes from this private sector is rejuvenated from this. It could also be the moment we find some quite difficult cuts and we find out about very tough decisions the UK Government will have to take in the years going forward.

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