With the colder months looming, almost a quarter of a million pensioners in the north are set to miss out on the Winter Fuel Payment following a vote in Westminster.
The new Labour government in London will cut the payment, worth up to £300, for all but the poorest pensioners, beginning this winter.
The vote was carried through in the House of Commons this week, and was opposed by 10 of the north’s 11 MPs.
What is the Winter Fuel Payment?
Before this week’s changes, the Winter Fuel Payment was an annual, tax-free lump sum payment of between £20 and £300, available to all those who had reached state pension age, in order to help cover the cost of heating their homes in the winter.
It was introduced in the UK in 1997 by the Labour government under Tony Blair, and last winter saw 11.4 million payments issued.
Why has it been changed?
Following Labour’s recent return to power under Prime Minister Keir Starmer following July’s General Election, Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed a plan to cut the Winter Fuel Payment for all UK pensioners in a bid to plug a £22bn hole in the UK’s finances she blamed on “reckless decisions” made by the previous Conservative government.
However, there have been warnings the changes will mean a “deeply challenging” winter for millions of vulnerable pensioners.
What changes have been made to the Winter Fuel Payment?
According to the British government, those pensioners in need of help to heat their homes in the winter will still be able to receive financial aid.
Rather than make the payments available to all pensioners, the new plan is to make it available only to those of state pension age in receipt of pension credit or benefits including Universal Credit, income support, working tax credit, income-based Jobseekers’ Allowance, or Child Tax Credit.
It is claimed the changes will save £1.3bn this winter, and up to £1.5bn in each of the coming years.
How did Northern Ireland MPs vote on the changes?
A Conservative Party motion to block the Winter Fuel Payments cut was defeated by 348 votes to 228.
Of the north’s 11 MPs who sit at Westminster, 10 backed the unsuccessful motion.
The DUP’s Gavin Robinson, Jim Shannon, Sammy Wilson, Gregory Campbell and Carla Lockhart all opposed the cuts, along with the SDLP’s Claire Hanna and Colum Eastwood, Alliance’s Sorcha Eastwood, the UUP’s Robin Swann, and the TUV’s Jim Allister.
No vote was recorded from Independent unionist North Down MP Alex Easton, while Sinn Féin’s seven MPs do not take their seats in the House of Commons under their policy of abstentionism.
What will it mean for Northern Ireland?
Despite opposition in the north, the cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment will now be enacted on this side of the Irish Sea.
Stormont’s communities minister Gordon Lyons has said he is “totally opposed” to the move, and warned it will have “serious consequences for the comfort, wellbeing and health of older people across Northern Ireland”.
Last month Mr Lyons warned that the cuts could even mean there will be “excess deaths” among pensioners.
It is expected that up to 249,000 pensioners in the north will miss out on a payment this winter.
