Pensioners in Northern Ireland affected by cuts to winter fuel support are to receive a one-off payment from the devolved government in Stormont in the coming weeks, a committee has heard. Payments of £100 will be made to a single pensioner living alone, while a payment of £50 will be made to each eligible pensioner of a household if there is more than one in the household.
Officials from the Department for Communities said they believe they are on track on deliver the payments before the end of March. An estimated 249,000 pensioners in the region lost the winter fuel support payment following a decision by the UK’s Labour government last year to restrict it to only pensioners on certain benefits, such as Pension Credit, whereas previously all pensioners received either £200 or £300, depending on their age.
Stormont Communities Minister Gordon Lyons announced last November a one-off payment for those affected by the cut and secured £17 million from an in-year monitoring fund for the move. The Pension Age Fuel Support Payment Scheme is aimed to be delivered before the end of March, with payments to be delivered directly into bank accounts.
Appearing at the Stormont Communities Committee on Thursday morning, David Tarr said the total value of the payments is estimated to be around £18 million, excluding administration and IT costs. Conrad McConnell said following the announcement by the minister that work started “immediately” to get the payment out.
“There are an estimated 179,000 households in Northern Ireland expected to receive this payment,” he said. “We started work immediately once the announcement was made to put in all the necessary IT and logistical arrangements to ensure the issuing of the payments before the end of March.
“We have a dedicated team in place which meets weekly and works on this every day to make this happen on time. There are lots of strands involved in this work. But despite all the complexity across all the various strands of work… we are on track to have the payment paid before the end of March 2025.”
Committee chair Colm Gildernew said he welcomed the payment after the “disgraceful” cut by the government.