£300 Winter Fuel Payment cut will have 'no impact' on poverty among pensioners

The £300 Winter Fuel Payment cut will have "no impact" on fuel poverty among pensioners, it has been claimed. Earlier this week, the new Labour Party government and Department for Work and Pensions voted through means-testing of the £300 sums.

But the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) warns fuel poverty WON'T rise despite limiting the £300 payouts to Pension Credit recipients. Last year, some 13 per cent of British households were found to be "fuel poor", according to DESNZ figures.

For 2024, it was forecast that this would slip slightly to 12.7 per cent. Between 2023 and 2024, the number of "fuel poor" households is forecast to plummet by 42,000 which can be attributed to energy efficiency investments, a drop in energy prices and rising household incomes.

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Alex Clegg, an economist at the Resolution Foundation, said: "Despite older people in England being more likely to live in an energy inefficient home, fuel poverty rates were significantly lower for over-65s than for the total population in 2021.

"The Government should take action to mitigate the loss of WFP for those pensioners who face difficulty paying their energy bills this winter. But what the current debate is missing is the far larger group of working-age families (many of whom will have children) that look set to struggle with their fuel bills once again this winter given the new higher energy bills norm."

A DESNZ spokesman told GB News: "Given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it is right that we target Winter Fuel Payments to those who need it most. These figures show how the change we have made makes no impact on the projected fall in the rate of fuel poverty over the next year. They also do not reflect our Pension Credit drive which has seen a 115 per cent increase in claims over the last five weeks and we urge anyone who may be eligible to claim.

“Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the Winter Fuel Payment and through our commitment to protect the triple lock, those on the full new State Pension will receive an additional £400 – twice the average winter fuel payment.”