The DWP is set to axe the Winter Fuel Payment in a move that has sparked fury among Labour MPs – but the Government is telling pensioners that the Triple Lock has left them better off
State pensioners have been advised that the anticipated £900 Triple Lock increase is expected to makeup for the reduction of the £300 Winter Fuel Payment.
With a pivotal vote looming, the Labour Party grapples with contentious welfare cuts proposed by the DWP which will pinpoint Pension Credit recipients exclusively. In an article for The Telegraph, Labour’s Rachael Maskell commented: “We know that being cold leads to stroke, heart attacks, pneumonia, hyperthermia and so much more as the body wrestles to keep warm, and viruses prey on the frail.”
Maskell added her concerns, stating: “The fear is that, if we withdraw winter fuel payments for those in fuel poverty, it will lead to excess deaths.”
Dissent also stirs among other party members, one voicing their dismay over the recent policies, including refusal to ditch the two-child benefit cap, saying: “There’s people right across the political divide who are very unhappy. They need to consider a u-turn over the winter fuel payments. I think this is going to ramp up, there’s a lot of angry people out there.”
Commons leader Lucy Powell remarked: “The legacy they have left us means we have had to make some really difficult decisions, decisions we did not want to make, like means testing the winter fuel payment.
“But we are doing all we can to support pensioners this winter: protecting the triple lock, which has seen the state pension go up by £900 this year and likely to rise by several hundred pounds next year; the Warm Home Discount worth £150; extending the Household Support Fund; and a huge campaign to get eligible pensioners onto Pension Credit.”, reports Birmingham Live.
“And yes, we have scheduled a vote on the winter fuel payment next week, because we are not afraid to have the debate about how we have got to where we have got to, a vote that, quite frankly, would not have happened under his party opposite because we respect Parliament and we respect doing things properly.”
This change will see a significant reduction in the number of pensioners eligible for Winter Fuel Payments from the current 11.4 million down to just 1.5 million who meet the new criteria, saving the Treasury approximately £1.4 billion this financial year.
