MP from Oxfordshire is calling on government to 're-think' plans to cut winter fuel payments
All six MP's from Oxfordshire will be given the chance to vote on the debate today, and we're hearing from one MP in Oxfordshire who tells us how they intend to vote
Last updated 10th Sep 2024
All six of Oxfordshire's MPs will be given the chance to take to the House of Commons and vote in today's debate on the Government's plans to scale-back winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners.
Sir Keir Starmer's come under pressure - from charities and some of his own MPs - to reverse this cut, which they argue will harm those on low-incomes across the UK.
What has one of our MPs said on this?
Calum Calum Miller is MP for Bicester and Woodstock and from the Lib Dems, he said:
"Pensioners in our community are deeply worried about how they're going to afford rising energy bills this winter. Many of them have written to me just to say how desperately anxious they are about keeping the heating on throughout these cold months.
"Cutting the winter fuel payments now is simply the wrong thing for this government to do. It shows a complete lack of empathy and I really hope the government will rethink these damaging cuts.
"Alongside other Liberal Democrats in Parliament we will be pressing the government to scrap their plans and re-think."
What's being voted on?
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, announced in the summer that, from winter 2024/2025, households in England and Wales will no longer be entitled to the Winter Fuel Payment unless they receive Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits.
According to the House of Common Library, 10.8 million pensioners in 7.6 million households in England and Wales received the Winter Fuel Payment for winter 2023/2024.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates that 1.5 million individuals in 1.3 million households in England and Wales will receive a payment for winter 2024/2025.
The measure is part of a package of measures announced by the Labour government aimed at making immediate savings, following an audit of public spending which concluded that there was an over ÂŁ20 billion 'black-hole' in the public finances
This measure is expected to save around ÂŁ1.3 billion in 2024/25 and ÂŁ1.5 billion in subsequent years.
Today's vote will focus on whether to go ahead with these changes to this allowance or not.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves says it's a "tough" but necessary decision to put the public finances on a "firmer footing".