Scottish Government ends universal Winter Fuel Payments
The finance secretary says she has been "left with no choice" but to replicate the decision to means test the payments in England and Wales
Last updated 14th Aug 2024
The Scottish Government says it has been “left with no choice” but to end universal Winter Fuel Payments in Scotland.
Plans to means-test the payments in England and Wales will see the Scottish Government’s funding cut by up to £160 million.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has confirmed the decision will replicated north of the border, with payments restricted to pensioners who receive eligible benefits.
Decision made "with a heavy heart"
Finance secretary Shona Robison told MFR News: “It is with a very heavy heart that we’ve had to make this decision.
“I cannot find up to £160million when we have got all of these pressures coming at us on pay, and the chancellors cuts to public services.
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said:
“The Chancellor announced this cut to the Winter Fuel Payment just weeks before the Scottish Parliament is due to take on responsibility for the payment – and without any consultation with the Scottish Government.
“Devolving a policy weeks after cutting its budget by almost 90% is disrespectful to everybody involved in shaping the new Scottish policy. Not only does it drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement, it ignores the disproportionate importance of this payment to households in Scotland, who face harsher winters and higher fuel costs.
"Eerie silence" from Scottish Labour politicians
“We and many others called for the UK Government to rethink this approach - or at least allow more time for a proper consultation - but they have not changed course. There is an eerie silence from Labour politicians north of the border, who would have been the first and loudest to condemn the Scottish Government if the roles were reversed.
“It is particularly galling to hear no condemnation from Labour MPs who represent areas with the highest proportion of fuel poverty. This is their first test, and as we feared, they have put party before country – despite promising otherwise during the election.
Age Scotland is continuing to urge the UK government to reconsider the plans to scrap the winter fuel payment for pensioners who do not receive pension credit.
The charity is warning the decision could leave hundreds of thousands of pensioners struggling with their energy bills over the winter months.
Age Scotland’s Policy Director, Adam Stachura, said:
“It’s infuritating that huge numbers of older people will miss out on the vital Winter Fuel Payment when it is devolved to Scotland.
“We recognise the financial challenge the Scottish Government would face to make up the shortfall to keep the payment universal, but we desperately hoped there could be a more effective delivery of this payment and that it could have looked more generous than the UK Government’s new, and meagre, approach.
Age Scotland describes decision as "brutal"
“At minimum, a quarter of a million pensioners in Scotland on the lowest incomes or living in fuel poverty will no longer receive this vital financial support over the winter months, while hundreds of thousands more on modest incomes are going to struggle with their energy bills even more than normal as a result.
“This brutal decision by the UK Government was made too fast, cuts too deep and its impact will be severe. It’s important that they rethink this move, as it has a huge impact on the devolution of social security and the needs of Scottish pensioners who live in some of the coldest homes in the UK.”
The UK Government insists the measure is necessary to plug a £20billion black hole in public finances left by the Conservative Government, and that about £1.5 billion will be saved per year by targeting winter fuel payments.