Labour to reverse winter fuel payment cuts - who will be eligible and what happens next?
Unanswered questions as Government reverses winter fuel payment cuts
- Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has made a U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts following political pressure.
- The cuts, introduced in July, restricted payments to pensioners receiving pension credits or other means-tested benefits, impacting about 9.3 million pensioners.
- The policy was criticised for disproportionately affecting vulnerable people and potentially pushing more pensioners into poverty.
- Sir Keir cited an improving economic picture as justification for expanding the eligibility, but details on the new threshold remain unclear.
- The specifics of the revised policy are expected to be revealed in the October budget, but it is uncertain whether changes will be in effect by the coming winter.