Stuart Anderson MP renews bid to save fuel payments for South Shropshire pensioners
Stuart Anderson MP has urged the new government to reconsider its decision to scrap winter fuel payments for more than ten million pensioners across the UK, including thousands in South Shropshire. He has signed an Early Day Motion (EDM), calling for the legislation that makes the change possible to be annulled. The EDM also challenges Ministers to hold a debate on the policy.
Last winter (2022-23), 11.4 million people received a winter fuel payment - which helps with the cost of energy bills during the colder months. This represents 8.4 million households. In South Shropshire, 24,824 people benefitted from the payment. Stuart has called into question the way in which the new government laid the regulations, which restrict the number of pensioners eligible for the payments to only those in receipt of a means-tested qualifying benefit such as Pension Credit.
Yet, there are up to 880,000 households who currently do not claim Pension Credit. The Fuel Poverty Committee has reported a significant group of pensioners on low and fixed incomes may suffer genuine hardship due to the decision - including pensioner households with annual incomes above the £18,200 threshold to be eligible for Pension Credit.
The regulations were laid by government on 22nd August using the negative procedure. Under this procedure, the policy becomes law on the day the Minister signs it and automatically remains law unless a motion – or ‘prayer’ – to reject it is agreed within 40 sitting days. It means the government did not have to first provide time for the changes to be debated in Parliament.
So, Stuart has exceptionally signed the EDM on procedural grounds, calling for the matter to be debated in Parliament. The motion requests time in Parliament for MPs to put forward the views of their constituents to Ministers. It comes as almost 60 per cent of the public in a recent survey said that they oppose the new government’s decision to scrap winter fuel payments for many pensioners.
It has also been revealed Ministers failed to undertake a full impact assessment of the removal - meaning questions have been left unanswered on how vulnerable households will be supported in the winter. Research from the Local Government Association has estimated that the NHS spends £2.5 billion per year, as a minimum, on treating illnesses directly linked to cold, damp, and unsafe homes. So, Stuart has also urged the government to implement the Fuel Poverty Committee’s recommendations to feature fuel poverty in NHS England winter planning guidance.
In addition, Stuart has called for the equivalent funding saved from the withdrawal of payments to be ring-fenced for supporting energy vulnerable households, after the Committee on Fuel Poverty reported being told the money withdrawn from winter fuel payments will not be redirected to helping those who most need support.
Stuart Anderson MP said:
“This new government’s decision to remove winter fuel payments from those not in receipt of means-tested qualifying benefits such as Pension Credit will affect thousands of people in South Shropshire. Last winter, 24,824 constituents benefitted from this payment. Its withdrawal represents losses of up to £300 at a time when energy bills are set to increase by £150. It is not too late for the government to rethink its decision, so I have called for time to be dedicated to debating the decision in Parliament.”
Stuart added:
“It was very disappointing to learn that the government does not plan to redirect the money withdrawn from the scheme to helping those most in need of support. This is especially the case given that research from the Local Government Association has estimated the NHS spends £2.5 billion per year, as a minimum, on treating illnesses directly linked to cold, damp, and unsafe homes. As such, I have also requested, as the Fuel Poverty Committee has done, that fuel poverty features in NHS England winter planning guidance. Additionally, I have called for the equivalent funding saved from the scheme to be ring-fenced as support for those who are vulnerable to rising energy costs this winter."
The EDM has also been signed by Rishi Sunak MP, Jeremy Hunt MP, Mel Stride MP and Claire Coutinho MP. It reads as follows:
“That a humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 (S.I., 2024, No. 148), dated 22 August, a copy of which was laid before this House on 22 August, be annulled.”
The EDM can be found at https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/62438. Constituents can sign Stuart's petition at www.stuartanderson.org.uk/winterfuel.
