Chancellor Rachel Reeves has defended her decision to means-test winter fuel payments, highlighting that the increased take-up of pension credit and the retention of the state pension triple lock would protect incomes. She told Times Radio that the campaign to encourage take-up of pension credit, which means people become eligible for the winter fuel payment, meant “we’re now seeing applications at more than 10,000 a week, they were around 3,000 a week previously”.
Ms Reeves said: “But, also, we’re committed to keeping the triple lock, not just for one year, but for the whole of this parliament. Already, the triple lock means that the pension this year is worth £900 more than a year ago, I’ll announce at the Budget probably another increase of around £460 next April, and over the course of this parliament, the new state pension is likely to rise by £1,700.
“So, we are protecting pension incomes through the triple lock, which means that they will go up by the highest of inflation, 2.5% or earnings.”
Her decision to strip winter fuel payments from 10 million pensioners is likely to be the focus of a fierce debate at the party’s conference in Liverpool, with major trade unions demanding a U-turn on the policy.
Union sources indicated the issue would be debated on the conference floor after Ms Reeves’ speech on Monday, although a vote on the call for a reversal of the policy could be pushed back until later in the week. The Chancellor will say her October 30 Budget statement will deliver on the change Labour offered at the election.
After weeks of warning about a poor economic legacy left by the Conservative government, Ms Reeves will attempt to strike a more positive note, saying “my optimism for Britain burns as bright as it ever has done”.
“I can see the prize on offer, if we make the right choices now. And stability is the crucial foundation on which all our ambitions will be built,” she will say. “The essential precondition for business to invest with confidence and families to plan for the future.
“The mini-budget showed us that any plan for growth without stability only leads to ruin.”
Winter Fuiel Payments will no longer be universal, meaning pensioners who want the £200 to £300 a year to help with the cost of heating in colder months will need to claim Pension Credit or another qualifying benefit.