Latest news with #means-testing
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
No prospect of universal winter fuel payment, says pensions minister
There is no prospect of returning to a universal winter fuel payment, pensions minister Torsten Bell has said. Speaking to the Work and Pensions Committee, Mr Bell said: 'Directly on your question of is there any prospect of a universal winter fuel payment, the answer is no, the principle I think most people, 95% of people, agree, that it's not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we're not going to be continuing with that. 'But we will be looking at making more pensioners eligible.' Mr Bell said he did not have 'lots to add' to what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had said recently about the allowance. He told the MPs: 'Of course the announcement, as and when it's made, will be made to the House.' Sir Keir recently signalled a partial U-turn over the Government's decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners. The Prime Minister said 'as the economy improves', he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300. But officials have been unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible. The decision to means-test the previously universal payment was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour's landslide election victory last year, and it has been widely blamed for the party's collapse in support. Watch live 🔴 — Work & Pensions Committee (@CommonsWorkPen) June 4, 2025 The Government has insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Sir Keir said could result in the partial reversal of the measure. On July 29 2024, the Government announced that from winter 2024, winter fuel payments would be dependent on receiving another means-tested benefit, as part of measures to fill a '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. Pension credit is the primary benefit by which pensioners can receive the winter fuel payment. The credit tops up incomes for poorer pensioners and acts as a gateway to additional support, including the winter fuel payment.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
No prospect of universal winter fuel payment, says pensions minister
There is no prospect of returning to a universal winter fuel payment, pensions minister Torsten Bell has said. Speaking to the Work and Pensions Committee, Mr Bell said: 'Directly on your question of is there any prospect of a universal winter fuel payment, the answer is no, the principle I think most people, 95% of people, agree, that it's not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we're not going to be continuing with that. 'But we will be looking at making more pensioners eligible.' Mr Bell said he did not have 'lots to add' to what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had said recently about the allowance. He told the MPs: 'Of course the announcement, as and when it's made, will be made to the House.' Sir Keir recently signalled a partial U-turn over the Government's decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners. The Prime Minister said 'as the economy improves', he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments worth up to £300. But officials have been unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible. The decision to means-test the previously universal payment was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour's landslide election victory last year, and it has been widely blamed for the party's collapse in support. The Government has insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Sir Keir said could result in the partial reversal of the measure. On July 29 2024, the Government announced that from winter 2024, winter fuel payments would be dependent on receiving another means-tested benefit, as part of measures to fill a '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. Pension credit is the primary benefit by which pensioners can receive the winter fuel payment. The credit tops up incomes for poorer pensioners and acts as a gateway to additional support, including the winter fuel payment.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Starmer acknowledges need for swift clarity on winter fuel payments
The sooner the Government provides clarity about which pensioners will get the winter fuel payment in future, the better, Sir Keir Starmer has acknowledged. The Prime Minister also did not steer away from suggestions that an announcement on the payment could come at the spending review on June 11. Ministers decided to limit the payment, worth up to £300, to only the poorest pensioners in one of its first acts of Government. Some 10 million pensioners saw the payment withdrawn, which had previously been made universally to even the very rich. The move was aimed at addressing what the Government said was a £22 billion 'black hole' in the public finances. But last month in a partial U-turn, the Prime Minister suggested he wanted to see the payment go to more pensioners. The decision to means-test the payment was said to have come up on the doorstep with voters in recent local elections, and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, which saw Reform UK win the constituency from Labour. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the Prime Minister said: 'I want to look again at where the threshold is. That's for sure. I'll be clear with you. 'In relation to that, I do think it was our duty to stabilise the economy and to fill in that £22 billion black hole. And I'm not going to resile from that.' Ministers 'need to be absolutely clear where the money is coming from' before they set out details of a partial U-turn on the winter fuel payment, Sir Keir said. He added: 'But I take your point, which is that if we want to look again at which pensioners are eligible, then the sooner we have clarity on that, the better.' Sir Keir did not rule out that further details could come at the spending review next week, only saying there were 'lots of moving parts' in the review. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner also signalled further details could come in the June 11 statement to the Commons, describing it as the 'first opportunity' to do so. Elsewhere in his interview with the BBC, the Prime Minister gave a strong signal he is considering scrapping the two-child benefit cap. Proponents of getting rid of the limit parents can claim for certain benefits related to their children say it could be the most effective way to eradicate child poverty. Asked by BBC Radio 4 about moves to scrap the cap, the Prime Minister said: 'I don't think this is a silver bullet. I will say that straight away. 'I think there are many measures that contribute to child poverty, and therefore I don't take the sort of binary approach: 'It's either this or nothing.' 'On the other hand, as I say, as we go forward with this review, I am clear in my own mind that I want this Labour Government to bring down child poverty, and I'm determined that that is what we will do.' The Government's flagship strategy aimed at tackling child poverty has been delayed until the autumn, with the aim of aligning it with the budget. Scrapping the cap is among the measures which could be unveiled as part of the child poverty strategy.
