The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is beneath unused power this weekend over arguable plans to restrict iciness gas allowance to the poorest pensioners, amid claims that it is going to reason “severe hardship” to tens of millions of aged community.
The Witness has realized that the rustic’s treasure for used community, Time UK, has written to Reeves with a selected proposal it believes will likely be fairer and that may prohibit round two million pensioners being disadvantaged of a cost it says they badly want.
The United Kingdom chancellor perceivable plans in July to introduce a means test for the winter fuel payment, the place best the ones on pensions credit score would qualify, as a part of a push to plug what she stated was once a £22bn black hole within the community funds left via the former Conservative management.
However many Labour MPs have reported being bombarded with lawsuits from constituents enraged on the plan, which was once no longer in Labour’s election manifesto. Latter presen, on a talk over with to Scotland, Reeves was once advised via a bunch of frightened Labour backbenchers that they didn’t imagine the plans had been truthful.
The problem could be raised via each Labour and Tory MPs when parliament reconvenes then the summer time recreation on Monday.
In a letter to Reeves, Time UK has put ahead an in depth plan suggesting that, instead than proscribing iciness gas bills to these on pension credit score, the allowance will have to even be paid to 2 million extra pensioners – the ones on a dimension of alternative advantages together with housing receive advantages, council tax assistance, attendance allowance and carers’ allowance.
Confirming the walk, Caroline Abrahams, treasure director at Time UK, stated: “Age UK has written to the chancellor, explaining why we oppose the means-testing of winter fuel payment and asking her to take action to safeguard the estimated two million pensioners who, as things stand, are set to lose it and who will experience severe hardship as a result.
“We think that, if the policy is to be introduced at all, then it shouldn’t happen so quickly, and if it is to happen in the future, the pool of pensioners entitled to winter fuel payment needs to be made far wider. There are different options for how to achieve this, but there’s no time to do any of them – or to make a big difference to pension credit take-up either – in the few months left this year.
“It’s important to understand that by aligning the means-testing of the payment with pension credit, the government is removing it from all pensioners whose annual incomes are above about £11,500 if they are single and £17,500 if they are a couple.
“We accept that the state of the public finances means that people of all ages who can afford to contribute more should be asked to do so, but surely no one can reasonably suggest that a widow living on her state pension and a tiny occupational pension, taking her income to a meagre £13,000 a year, is someone who ought to be in that category. And yet this is the result of the government’s decision. They need to think again.”
Reeves says that she is having to pluck “tough” choices – extra of which she is going to disclose in her first finances on 30 October – to fill a £22bn monetary dull hollow left via the former Tory govt.
Writing in lately’s Witness, Reeves says that on getting into the Treasury she was once briefed via officers concerning the alarming climate of presidency overspending and advised drastic motion was once had to stock the financial system strong.
“That first month it was made clear to me that, unless I acted urgently, market confidence in the UK’s fiscal position could be seriously undermined. That would have meant higher debt, higher mortgages, and higher prices in the shops. I was not prepared to let that happen.”
She says she took tricky choices, together with cancelling highway tasks, reviewing the untouched hospitals programme and asking govt segments to search out financial savings, in addition to proscribing iciness bills to all however the poorest pensioners.
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She provides: “I know these are tough choices, especially on winter fuel. They were not the choices I wanted to make or expected to make, but they were the right choices to put our country on a firmer footing. Because by taking the tough decisions now to protect the public finances we can begin the process of change.”
Requested if ministers would believe adopting Time UK’s plan and carry out a bias U-turn, a central authority spokesman stated: “We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. That’s why, through our commitment to protect the triple lock, over 12 million pensioners will see their state pensions increase by almost £1,000 over the next five years.
“But given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, it’s right that we target support to those who need it most while we take the difficult decisions needed to fix the foundations of our economy.
“Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the winter fuel payment and eligible pensioners will also be able to benefit from the £150 warm home discount scheme from October to help with their energy bills over winter.
“We are urging pensioners to come forward and check their eligibility for pension credit to ensure as many people in need as possible have access to this support.”
