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Louise Thomas
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Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to review his decision to scrap winter fuel payments for 10m pensioners after the regulator Ofgem announced household energy bills will rise by £150 in October.
The prime minister has been warned the double hit will lead to disaster for pensioners on low and modest incomes or living in vulnerable circumstances due to ill health.
Analysis shows energy bills this winter will be the highest on record for older people who previously received the winter fuel payment, worth up to £300.
Campaigners and charities, as well as Tory and Labour politicians, have called on the PM to change course.
Beginning this year, only pensioners who receive pension credit (or certain benefits) will get the winter fuel payment.
Since being introduced in 1997, the winter fuel payment has been available to all pensioners, regardless of income. There have previously been calls to make it means-tested to prevent taxpayer cash going to wealthier pensioners who are less likely to be struggling with bills.
But critics say the move will mean the payment being missed by many who depend on it.
Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, who has had the party whip suspended for rebelling over the two-child benefit cap, told The Independent: “This large rise in energy bills will put more elderly at risk this winter and warrants a reassessment by the government of its Winter Fuel Allowance proposal. Too many older people will be put in jeopardy.”
Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said: “An estimated two million older people, in all, will face an even steeper mountain to climb in paying their energy bills and staying warm and well when the weather chills. With pensioners also losing the cost-of-living payments they’ve received over the last two years we simply cannot see how some of them will cope.”
She said the lifting of Ofgem’s price cap for energy bills makes it “even more obvious” that making the winter fuel payment means tested could be “hazardous for some older people”.
Personal finance guru Martin Lewis told BBC Radio 4: “I think the government should rethink getting rid of the winter fuel payment in the way it has done so.
“While I agree there’s a very strong argument for getting rid of the universal winter fuel payment, I think the eligibility criteria is far too narrow.”
Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, told The Independent the government’s “cruel decision” will see more vulnerable people succumb to health complications from living in cold and damp conditions, turning to the NHS for support. It will create a false economy, with the estimated £1.5bn savings being wiped out by additional strain on the health service, he added.
Mr Francis said: “Pensioners will feel the brunt of the energy price hike this winter.”
National Energy Action chief Adam Scorer said the government is “cutting off support from those who have zero flexibility in their own budget, with no choice other than debt or going cold”.
The change was among a series of cost-cutting measures announced by Rachel Reeves after she identified a £22bn hole in the public finances left by the Conservatives. Announcing the move, she said: “Let me be clear: this is not a decision I wanted to make.
“But it is a necessary and urgent decision I must make. It is the responsible thing to do to fix the foundations of our economy and bring back economic stability.”
Tory leadership contender Mel Stride told The Independent Ms Reeves had made the cut while “handing out inflation-busting pay rises to unions”.
“This was a political decision by Labour,” he said. Mr Stride added: “With the energy price cap due to rise by 10 per cent before the winter, Labour must now reconsider their decision to take winter fuel support from millions of vulnerable pensioners. Many older people rely on this vital support to get through the winter and will now see their bills rise.”
And Labour peer Prem Sikka told The Independent the policy had been announced while the government made “no attempt whatsoever to curb profiteering by energy companies”.
“They are taking away the winter fuel payment rights from 10m, without any consultation, it was not in the manifesto, they have not produced any impact assessment of the human cost and there will not be a vote on it,” Lord Sikka said.
When Theresa May announced plans to means-test the payment in 2017, Labour said the move would lead to the deaths of thousands of pensioners and dubbed it an “attack on pensioners”.
Lord Sikka added: “This is really hitting the elderly and there is no excuse for it. So early in its life, this government has shown neglect of senior citizens and they ought to be reviewing this. The government has made wrong judgments, wrong choices and there were plenty of alternatives.
“They cannot continue to blame the Tories, because their job is to find new answers and it is no good playing this blame game.”
Shadow energy secretary Claire Cousinho criticised Ms Reeves for making one of her first acts as chancellor removing the winter fuel payment from 10m pensioners, which she said was a far cry from Labour’s promise to save families £300 on their energy bills.
“Because they weren’t honest about their plans, that means millions of pensioners will have made no plans to deal with higher energy bills this winter,” she added.
Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: “With the cap on bills raised by the regulator, Labour’s unforgivable decision to scrap Winter Fuel Payments risks creating a fuel poverty crisis among pensioners in Wales, where we have an older population.
“Labour must reverse their decision and keep pensioners warm this winter.”
The row came as Ofgem announced that the average home energy bill will increase from £1,568 to £1,717 on 1 October – a rise of £149.
Secretary of state for energy security and net zero Ed Miliband said: “This will be deeply worrying news for many families. The rise in the price cap is a direct result of the failed energy policy we inherited, which has left our country at the mercy of international gas markets controlled by dictators.
“The only solution to get bills down and greater energy independence is the government’s mission for clean, homegrown power. That’s why we have hit the ground running, lifting the onshore wind ban, consenting unprecedented amounts of solar power and setting the largest ever budget for our renewables auction.
“We will also do everything in our power to protect billpayers, including by reforming the regulator to make it a strong consumer champion, working to make standing charges fairer, and a proper Warm Homes Plan to save families money.”
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