Tag: Winter Fuel Payments

Warm Homes Plan “downpayment”, but no additional energy help in Budget

The first Budget of the new Government gave little for fuel poverty campaigners to welcome.

While investment in energy was confirmed and a “down payment” on the Warm Homes Plan was highlighted, there was no further support for households with their energy bills.

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“The only way to bring down bills permanently is through investment in insulation, home improvements, renewables and infrastructure which will free us from volatile gas prices forever.

“But after the Chancellor’s speech, uncertainty remains whether Ministers will be able to confirm the £13.2bn promised to help people improve their homes.

“And despite the Chancellor taking Winter Fuel Payments away from millions of older people with disabilities and health conditions, there was no support for vulnerable households with their energy bills now.

“The increase to the Household Support Fund announced today is essentially an extension of the current Fund through to the end of March 2026 at the same level as under the last Government and with no adjustment for inflation.

“And with more older people turning to the Fund, local authorities will find it stretched even further.

“What we needed to see in the short term was a restoration of winter fuel payments, an expansion of warm home discounts and reforms to improve and extend cold weather payments.

“Longer term, the Chancellor also needed to commit to a social tariff providing a unit rate discount on energy alongside existing support.”

Warm This Winter spokesperson Caroline Simpson said:

“The Government has done a lot to move us on from energy price shocks in the future with the clear commitment to clean energy.

“But while £3.4 billion is a welcome first instalment on the Warm Homes Plan, it is only the start of the journey.

“We desperately need to see a full £13.2bn turbo charge to the Warm Homes Plan and a 10 year strategy to keep people warm every winter through better housing and energy efficiency.

“For those suffering in cold damp homes now – especially those with disabilities, heath conditions and who have lost the Winter Fuel Payment – the majority of voters also want to see help now.

“In fact 75% of the public say there should be financial help for older and disabled people to pay their energy bills. The public also think the wider energy sector, who have made £457 billion in profits since the start of the energy crisis,  should pick up the tab for a new social tariff.

“We urge the government to look at this as a way forward.”

Frazer Scott from Energy Action Scotland, posted on X:

“Nothing in the budget to help people across the UK access affordable energy. We need UK and devolved governments to work better together because the dial isn’t shifting based on their individual interventions.”

National Energy Action Chief Executive Adam Scorer commented:

“This Budget will not lessen the impact of unaffordable energy bills and record levels of energy debt this winter. With likely increases to energy bills later in January, things will remain bleak for some of the most vulnerable households across the UK.

“A longer-term Warm Homes Plan designed to help fuel poor households is more vital than ever. A downpayment is welcome, but we need the full detail and investment promised in the Labour manifesto.”

Ellie Mae O’Hagan, UK Energy Programme Leader for E3G said:

“The initial £3.4 billion announced over three years for retrofitting homes will provide industry with welcome investment certainty but is well short of the Labour Manifesto pledge to invest £13.2 billion over the Parliament.

“The door has been left open to boost this investment in the Spending Review due in the Spring. This must now be delivered so that people can get the warm homes they deserve.”

Paul Kissack, Chief Executive of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation said:

“Today’s actions alone won’t be enough to fix the foundations for millions who struggle winter after winter in devastating hardship. The Chancellor is right that change must be felt. The people who needed to feel the most change are those living in and at risk of hardship.

“Limiting the devastating impact of deductions is a good step. There was also welcome investment in social homes, help for carers to work and care, and a rise in the minimum wage.

“It’s deeply worrying that we haven’t seen changes to social security that will seriously bring down hardship. In particular private renters will feel let down by the choice to keep Local Housing Allowance frozen means that it will become further out of step with local rent levels, which have soared in recent years.

“People receiving sickness benefits also face a fearful future at a time when almost two thirds of those experiencing destitution have a long term health condition. The government has failed to explain how they will save £3bn from the benefits bill and will offer no certainty and more anxiety rather than the respect they deserve.”

Independent Age Chief Executive Joanna Elson, CBE  said:

“Today’s Budget was a mixed bag for older people in financial hardship. There were some welcome announcements from the UK Government’s including the continuation of the Triple Lock, changes to the earnings limit for Carers Allowance, investment in Discretionary Housing Payment and an extension to the Household Support Fund. All of these have the potential to help older people in financial hardship. 

“However, many older people living on low incomes will be incredibly concerned that the UK Government is going full steam ahead with plans to means test the Winter Fuel Payment. At the very least, this change shouldn’t be made until Pension Credit take-up is substantially increased. The latest figures show that up to 970,000 eligible older people could be missing out on Pension Credit, and now they will lose the Winter Fuel Payment despite living on a low income. This will have a devastating impact on older people in financial hardship across the country. The people we speak to at Independent Age are planning to make drastic cutbacks just to get by, from heating one room in their house to visiting public places just to stay warm.

“Many people experiencing poverty in later life will feel their voices have not been heard today, with few policies that will quickly get financial support to them. For example, the UK Government could have widened the Winter Fuel Payment eligibility to include those receiving Housing Benefit, and committed to the annual uprating of Local Housing Allowance. 

“In the long-term, nobody should have to worry about their finances as they age. In the future we want to see national social tariffs for water and energy, this will help protect those on low incomes from spikes in costs like we have seen recently. It is also time for politicians to agree on what an adequate income in later life should be to avoid financial hardship. 

“Our latest polling found that 87% of people aged 65 and over think the UK Government doesn’t understand the issues facing older people, and sadly it is hard to see enough in this Budget that will change this view.”

Critically low energy usage hits fuel poor during cold weather

Some of the UK’s poorest households use 21% less energy during cold weather than other households, leaving them exposed to potentially dangerous cold damp homes, according to new research.

Research also finds that households on smart prepayment meters could not stay warm when it got really cold and became disconnected from their energy.

Those most affected were households identified as vulnerable and listed on the Priority Services Register – the sick, disabled, elderly and young.

The analysis has been conducted by a group of academics from the UCL Energy Institute, University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute and Cambridge Architectural Research.

Eoghan McKenna of the UCL Energy Institute said:

“We know that these fuel poor households are living in colder homes, and that they cut back on their heating in response to the rise in energy prices.”

Academics found that the poorest households are those least able to respond to the coldest weather and examined the Cold Weather Payments system. This pays out £25 to eligible households after there has been a week of below freezing weather, but was found that it covered less than half the extra cost of keeping warm during a cold snap.

The scheme was condemned by a House of Commons Energy Committee report as “an outdated, old-fashioned scheme.”

As reported exclusively in the Mirror, the new paper recommends that an Extreme Weather Payment system is set up that credits the energy account of all eligible households on every day that the Met Office declares the minimum temperature will be -4 degrees Celsius or lower on the following day.

The payment of £10 per day would be made in advance of the cold weather, on a daily basis. It should be available to all vulnerable households to offset the extra cold and existing fuel poverty.

Dr Tina Fawcett of the Environmental Change Institute, Oxford University, said:

“This simple change, which will not be expensive, will help households stay warm when it really matters. It will ensure the Government can deliver the right support at the right time.”

A spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“Exposure to critically low levels of energy use in fuel poor households means that they are not heating their homes to an adequate level – leaving them to live in cold, damp conditions.

“While energy saving through better insulation and ventilation of properties is part of the long term solution to people living in cold damp homes, we need emergency support for households for foreseeable winters.

“For a Chancellor suffering from the political fallout from the Winter Fuel Payment cuts, a modern, updated, compassionate level of support during cold weather should be an obvious step to take.”

Jason Palmer from Cambridge Architectural Research and UCL added:

“It is extremely worrying that households in fuel poverty are cutting energy use compared to other households when it is coldest. This puts their health, and ultimately their lives, at risk.”

ENDS

Brief report available to download: Cold Weather Payments Analysis

Winter fuel payment cuts set to hit 84% of disabled pensioners

Over four-fifths (84%) of older people with a long-term health condition or disability claim they will no longer get Winter Fuel Payments according to new research. [1]

The figures, reported in the Daily Express, suggest that one in five (19%*) people who have long-term health conditions or disabilities, are over 66 and say they will no longer likely get Winter Fuel Payments claim that they are worried about their own safety because of the risks of living in a cold damp home this winter. This compares with 17% of the general public and 14% of all over 65s.

The figures* also indicate that those respondents who claim they are no longer eligible for Winter Fuel Payments and have a physical disability are more likely to live in a home that is often cold and damp than the general population.

81% of older people who are already worried about cold and damp in their own homes claim they will not get Winter Fuel Payments.

While owner occupiers are most likely to no longer get Winter Fuel Payments, 77% of older people who rent will miss out, with those in social housing* especially affected by the cuts.

Commenting on the figures, a spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, commented:

“The data is yet another warning sign. The indications are that older people who no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment are more likely to suffer in cold damp homes this winter than the general public. 

“For those pensioners with a physical disability, the situation is potentially even worse. Many do not have access to the means tested benefits needed to claim the Winter Fuel Payment and the Government must urgently assess the impact on this group in particular and provide more support for them.

“Until the Government fully implements its plans to improve insulation and ventilation of buildings as well as stabilise energy costs, vulnerable households will continue to need financial support. 

“That’s why the Winter Fuel Payments were so important. The money provided help for older households to stay warm each winter. Sadly, now more older people are expected to live in cold damp homes this winter and this puts them at greater risk of ill health, with over quarter of a million older people becoming so ill they will be forced to the doors of the NHS.”

James Taylor, Scope’s executive director of strategy and social change, said:  

“These findings are a shocking indictment of a plan that will leave older disabled people in an impossible situation this winter.

“Life already costs more when you’re disabled. Higher electricity bills because of medical equipment to power. Higher heating bills because of health conditions affected by the cold. 

“Since the start of this crisis, we’ve heard from disabled people who are going without heating and forgoing medical treatment. Sacrifices that put their health at risk. 

“While some disabled pensioners receive pension credit, there are an alarming number who will miss out this winter. We’d urge anyone who thinks they could be eligible to apply, or to get in touch with our helpline for advice. 

“We desperately need a longer-term solution for the eye-watering energy costs many disabled people face, which is why we’re calling for the government to bring in discounted bills for disabled households.”

ENDS

[1] Winter Fuel Payment research by Opinium (undertaken 7-8 Oct 2024, sample of 2,014, weighted to be politically and nationally representative). 

Among respondents aged over 66, 88% say they do not receive a qualifying benefit and, therefore, will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment in winter 2024/25. 2% preferred not to answer or did not know, leaving 10% saying they are on a qualifying benefit.

 2024 voting behaviour

90% of Labour voters aged over 66 claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment

89% of Conservative voters aged over 66 claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment

96% of Lib Dem voters aged over 66 claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment*

80% of Reform voters aged over 66 claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment

Region

93% of Scots aged over 66 claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment*

91% of people aged over 66 and living in southern England claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment

88% of people aged over 66 and living in London claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment*

87% of people aged over 66 and living in the English Midlands claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment

85% of people aged over 66 and living in northern England claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment

81% of people aged over 66 and living in Wales or Northern Ireland claim they will no longer get the Winter Fuel Payment*

* indicates that the base sample is below 50 and caution should be taken in using or reporting on this figure with more detailed research required to confirm the findings.