Latest news with #WinterFuelPayment
Scottish Sun
2 days ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Hard-up households to get up to £150 in free cost of living cash
Read below for more councils providing financial support CASH IN Hard-up households to get up to £150 in free cost of living cash HARD-UP households can get up to £150 in free cost of living cash. Cash-strapped households can get access to money through the Household Support Fund (HSF). 1 The household support fund gives cash grants to struggling households The scheme has been extended multiple times with the latest round running between April 2025 and March 2026. Each council in England has been allocated a share of the £742million fund and can distribute it to residents in need. Eligibility criteria varies based on where you live but usually help is offered to those on benefits or a low income. Eligible households in Leeds will get payments of up to £150 to help. How much you will be given depends on factors like if you are a pensioner or if you have dependent children. All claimants must also be in receipt of Council Tax Support, a scheme where those on a low income or benefits can get money off the bill. The payment will be £125 to households with dependent children and £50 to all households without. Meanwhile, some pensioner households who are eligible for Council Tax Support but not the Winter Fuel Payment will receive £150. The £300 benefit was previously available to everyone aged 66 but cuts made by Labour now mean only those on means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit get the help. Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to ease cuts to the Winter Fuel Allowance, - however the PM was sparse on details about when the changes might take place. Cash for Care Leeds council said those who are eligbile for the support will recieve the payment in the autumn and winter. The council also said it would be in direct contact with those who meet the criteria. A qualifying date for when you need to have been in receipt of Council Tax Support to be eligible for the support has not yet been set. So if you think you may be eligible for the support it might be worth submitting an application. You can find out more by vising, APPLY FOR A COUNCIL TAX REDUCTION If you are on a low income or receiving benefits, you could be eligible for a reduction on your council tax. Whether you are eligible will vary depending on where you live. Also it does not matter whether you own your home or rent, anyone who is struggling financially can apply. You need to apply for a reduction via your local councils website. To make a claim, will need to provide the council with information on your earnings and what pensions, benefits, allowances and tax credits you receive. To find where your local council is visit In some instances your bill could be reduced by 100%, meaning you don't have to pay anything. You could also get a deferral if you're struggling to pay your bill, or you can speak to your council about setting up a payment plan to manage the cost. Pensioners may also find themselves eligible for a council tax reduction. If you receive the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit, you could get a 100% discount. If not, you could still get help if you have a low income and less than £16,000 in savings. And a pensioner who lives alone will be entitled to a 25% discount too. Again, to claim this, you will need to contact your local council. WHAT IF I DON'T LIVE IN LEEDS The £742million Household Support Fund has been shared between all councils in England. For example, North Somerset Council has also announced it will provide food vouchers worth up to £100 to those in need. And, families living in Worcestershire can apply for cost of living cash worth £500. Meanwhile, Cheshire West Council's latest allocation of the Household Support Fund is worth £200. Hartlepool council is also distributing £100 food vouchers to all children eligible for free school meals aged between two and 19. But even if you don't live in these areas but are struggling financially or are on benefits you will likely be eligible for help. This is because the fund was originally set up to help those on low incomes or classed as vulnerable. What type of help you can get will vary but it could range from a free cash payment to supermarket vouchers. It's worth bearing in mind, because the new round of the HSF has only just opened, you might not be able to apply for help yet. However, it's worth keeping an eye on your local council's website or social media channels.
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
SNP: Labour costing households in South Lanarkshire £165m
A spokesperson for South Lanarkshire Council defended the use of the funding model, saying it had allowed the authority to rebuild its entire school estate. Labour claimed the SNP were trying to deflect from their own record of local authority funding cuts. READ MORE: PFI contracts were introduced by John Major's Conservative government in the 1990s to fund infrastructure projects with private capital. The approach was later expanded by Tony Blair's Labour government and rebranded as PPP. Though hundreds of schools, hospitals and roads were built under these schemes, they have been criticised for long-term repayment costs far exceeding the original construction value. Since 2005, the Scottish Government has replaced PFI with non-profit distributing (NPD) and hub models, which aim to limit private profits by removing dividend payments. These alternatives have funded £3.3bn in infrastructure projects. The long-term financial burden of PFI was highlighted in a report by Audit Scotland last year, which found NHS Scotland is still less than halfway through repaying its PFI debts — more than 25 years after contracts were signed. BBC Scotland has also reported that at least 11 Scottish PFI schemes may require expensive buyouts at the end of their terms, including Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and University Hospital Wishaw. The council said PFI had allowed them rebuild every school in the regionSince Labour took control of South Lanarkshire Council in 2022, the local authority has paid — or is projected to pay — £165.29m in PFI and PPP repayments over four years: £39.81m in 2022/23, £40.80m in 2023/24, £41.82m in 2024/25, and £42.86m in this financial year. SNP MSP Collette Stevenson said the figures exposed the 'true price of Labour failure' and claimed the increasing costs were the result of 'decades-old policy decisions' that continue to drain local budgets. 'Labour's PFI and PPP failure is costing households across South Lanarkshire more and more every year — hitting this community with a bill of almost £43m this year,' she said. 'In government, the SNP has delivered for this community; scrapping PFI and PPP contracts and providing record funding for local authorities — much of which goes towards mitigating the impact of Labour decisions like PFI.' She added: 'Whether it is decades-old policy decisions like PFI, their decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment or the council's decision to slash school bus provision, Labour in power is costing households dearly. 'Scotland has always been an afterthought to the Labour Party — but the SNP under John Swinney's leadership will always stand up for Scotland and be on the side of communities like South Lanarkshire.' A council spokesperson said: 'The council has utilised different financing options at different times in order to rebuild every single secondary and primary school in the area. "The result is a fantastic learning environment for every pupil in the area — and what many consider to be the best schools estate in the United Kingdom — including 127 new primary schools that were funded directly by the council. 'Part of the due diligence process undertaken for the secondary school contract was a comparison exercise signed off by Audit Scotland and the Scottish Government. 'In terms of secondary schools, funding is provided by the Scottish Government towards the costs of these contracts.' READ MORE Scottish Labour also hit back, with local government spokesperson Mark Griffin accusing the SNP of trying to 'deflect' from its own record. 'The SNP is the architect of austerity in Scotland's councils and this desperate attempt at deflection will not hide that,' he said. 'The SNP has raided over £480m from core South Lanarkshire Council budgets over recent years, undermining vital local services. 'Despite the SNP's relentless campaign of cuts, the Labour council has protected frontline services and delivered the lowest Council Tax increase in the country for local families.' The row comes as the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election enters it final week.
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
The 1 thing I agree with Nigel Farage on
NIGEL Farage gets one big thing right. No, it isn't his pledge to reintroduce the Winter Fuel Payment or to scrap the two-child cap; just look at how he'd exclude immigrants in the latter instance to see how opportunistic his announcement was this week. It's something more fundamental and something that many of his opponents struggle to comprehend. It is his belief, or his professed belief, in politics. Keir Starmer doesn't believe in politics; he believes in opinion polls, focus groups and, most of all, he believes whatever Morgan McSweeney tells him to believe. A particularly embarrassing moment for the Prime Minister came this week when he was challenged on his lack of appeal compared with Farage and asked whether had anything to do with his propensity to reach for talking points and avoid questions. Starmer responded by reaching for a talking point and avoiding the question. A few years ago, Starmer believed that a woman could have a penis, now he doesn't. He once believed that Labour should spend £28 billion a year on renewables, then he didn't. He once held up Jeremy Corbyn as a 'friend', then they were simply 'colleagues'. I could go on. Keir Starmer's press conference was a masterclass in disastrous hubris. He repeatedly tried to attack Nigel Farage, but ended up being rounded on by many of the journalists present. He wants everyone to take him seriously but he's become a national laughing stock. — James Melville 🚜 (@JamesMelville) May 30, 2025 When I say that Farage believes in politics, I don't mean that he is even all that consistent. Are we really meant to believe that a Thatcherite former City boy cares all that deeply about families on benefits, or has he identified yet another stick with which to beat the Government? But there are certain topics on which the public knows beyond any doubt that Farage has a stance and has held the same stance for decades. He didn't like immigration when we were in the EU, he still doesn't like it five years on. He is, almost always for the worse, willing to bang the same drum, even if he gets torn apart for it by his opponents. READ MORE: Nigel Farage sees route to power in squeezing Labour from the left At a press conference in Westminster on Tuesday the Reform UK leader batted away suggestions he was a 'populist'. He said: 'I've nearly always spent my career pushing arguments for minority positions and trying to make them into majority positions.' Farage, never modest, thinks he's rather good at this. I do, too, if the last decade of UK politics is anything to go by. What's more, if that had come out of the mouth of just about anyone else, I'd have found it mighty refreshing. That doesn't mean that I want Farage's 'minority positions' to successfully be turned into 'majority positions' but that I wish there were more politicians willing to counter him on those terms. Starmer (below), like a child cheating on their homework, prefers to find out what everyone else has said and follow that. The SNP have started down this road, too. Their insistence that a referendum should only be sought when support for independence reaches 60% is not making an argument; it is not politics, but policy by opinion polling in the most straight-forward way. We need fewer politicians fretting over what plays well with focus groups or trying to spin narratives. They must decide what they are actually all about. They need to reflect on why they're in this game at all. Until they do, people will turn to Farage not just for what he is saying but because they can see, most of the time, that he actually believes it. Compare with the Prime Minister, who would take a straw poll if he was asked whether it was raining out. You can get the Worst of Westminster delivered straight to your email inbox every Friday at 6pm for FREE by clicking here.
Wales Online
3 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Winter fuel payment: Options to reintroduce the benefit for millions of households
Winter fuel payment: Options to reintroduce the benefit for millions of households The decision to make the Winter Fuel Payment available only to those who claim pension credit last year meant those claiming the benefit fell by almost 90% and saved around £1.5 billion a year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) estimates An update on Winter Fuel Payments is likely within the next few weeks (Image: undefined via Getty Images ) Plans on whether to restore Winter Fuel Payments for more pensioners could be unveiled as early as next month, Angela Rayner recently hinted. The Deputy Prime Minister said an update may be likely in the Spending Review, scheduled for June 11. In a highly controversial move the Labour UK Government previously limited the annual payment of up to £300 to only those receiving certain means-tested benefits, such as Pension Credit or Universal Credit. It was in an effort to address a £22 billion 'black hole' in the public purse. However, with the UK's economic prospects improving, Sir Keir Starmer expressed his desire to reinstate the payments to "more pensioners" at the next "fiscal event". Below we have outlined a number of possible outcomes that could be announced on June 11 to help you know what to expect. These include anything from a full reversal to expanding entitlement to recipients of certain benefits. For money-saving tips, sign up to our Money newsletter here . Full reversal One option on the table could be to completely overturn the move that removed the benefit from countless pensioners Taking back the decision to restrict it to only those who are eligible for pension credit the previous year resulted in a nearly 90% drop in those claiming Winter Fuel Payment and led to an annual saving of roughly £1.5 billion, according to the estimations by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). Reinstating the policy change from last year would extend eligibility to an additional 11 million households and naturally erase the £1.5 billion in savings. Introduce a designated threshold for Winter Fuel Payments Introducing a bespoke threshold and means-testing system would offer an avenue for households that don't qualify for Pension Credit to request Winter Fuel Payments. Lifting the bar 20% higher than the Pension Credit limit would bring about an expenditure of nearly £100 million and make payments accessible to about 400,000 extra families, as per the data from the Resolution Foundation. An alternative approach could take inspiration from Child Benefit by letting all pensioner households apply, but then necessitating those with income above a specific tier to reimburse some amount through a self-assessment tax return, notes the IFS. However, Tom Waters, associate director at the IFS, has flagged concerns regarding the adoption of "a clunky bureaucratic mechanism for what is, ultimately, a relatively small payment". The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has estimated that restricting Winter Fuel Payment to only those on pension credit last year led to a nearly 90 per cent drop in claimants, saving about £1.5 billion annually. Reversing the policy change from last year would make an additional 11 million households eligible, effectively erasing the £1.5 billion saved. Introduce a specific income threshold for Winter Fuel Payments Implementing a new income threshold and means test could enable households not receiving Pension Credit to qualify for Winter Fuel Payments. An increase of 20 per cent above the Pension Credit limit could incur a cost of approximately £100 million, extending benefits to roughly 400,000 more families, as per the Resolution Foundation's analysis. One approach could mirror Child Benefit, allowing all pensioner households to claim, but then requiring higher-income recipients to repay some through a self-assessment tax return, as noted by the IFS. However, IFS associate director Tom Waters cautions against the potential pitfalls of "a clunky bureaucratic mechanism for what is, ultimately, a relatively small payment". Widen eligibility to include recipients of disability or housing benefits Expanding eligibility to include those receiving disability benefits could benefit around 1.8 million additional households, with an estimated annual cost of £500 million, according to the IFS. Expanding the Winter Fuel Payment to cover those receiving housing and disability benefits could benefit an additional 1.3 million pensioner households, with an annual cost of £300 million, according to the Resolution Foundation's calculations. Ruth Curtice, the chief executive, described this move as an "affordable" and "sensible way forward". Pay Winter Fuel Payments to individuals, not households Currently, the Winter Fuel Payment is issued per household rather than per individual, which presents a challenge in its distribution. A shift to individual allocation would enable the UK Government to perform means testing on a personal level, utilising existing income tax data. Article continues below This change would allow low-income pensioners with wealthier partners to receive the winter fuel payment. However, this adjustment might result in couples receiving double the amount compared to single individuals, whereas currently, a single person receives the same as a couple in one household.
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
DWP Winter Fuel Payment won't be reinstated for one group despite U-turn
Last week, Sir Keir Starmer signalled a potential U-turn on the controversial policy to scrap the universal Winter Fuel Payment One group of pensioners will not have their Winter Fuel Payment reinstated this year if Labour pushes ahead with its U-turn a government minister has confirmed. In an interview this week, a government minister confirmed that the Winter Fuel Payment would not be given to "millionaire" pensioners and would onyl go to those who "that need it the most". Last week, Sir Keir Starmer signalled a potential U-turn on the controversial policy to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment. During PMQ's, the Prime Minister told the Commons that the government wanted to ensure that more pensioners would be eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment going forward. Keir Starmer said the decision on this, however, was "as part of a fiscal event" so any changes would only come after a Spending Review. He told the Commons: "I recognise people are still feeling the pressure of the cost of living crisis including pensioners, and as the economy improves we want to make sure people feel those improvements as their lives go forward. That is why we want to ensure as we go forward more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments. As you would expect we will only make sure we make decisions we can afford." The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) payment is worth £300 and is paid to pensioner households between October and March. The aim of the money is to help with the extra costs of heating the home over the winter months. Speaking to Sky News on Thursday evening, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones was asked about Reform UK's commitments on fully reinstating the Winter Fuel Payment. He said: "All of those things cost money. It's right that we set out the detail and how we're going to pay for those in a proper and orderly way.' "We're sticking to the principle that millionaires shouldn't be getting subsidy for their energy bills from the government, so Winter Fuel Payments will still be targeted to those that need it the most.' It is believed that the Government is considering a rethink of the £11,500 cut-off for the allowance, which would allow more people to get the money. Last year, the Labour government means-tested the Winter Fuel Payment. This meant that only certain pensioners over the age of 66 would receive the money, rather than all pensioners. The move saw over nine million pensioners in the UK lose the extra cash last winter. Labour faced severe backlash at the time, which has continued to follow them. Legal challenges have been raised against the government for the move, with charities warning that it would push more older Brits into poverty. Research conducted by Unite Union found that over two-thirds of its retired members had to turn their heating down last winter, a third were taking fewer baths or showers, and 16% had to cut back on hot meals due to the increased costs of trying to stay warm. The axing of the benefit was also linked to the rise in Reform Councillors in the recent elections.
