About 780,000 pensioners who need the winter fuel payment will lose out on it when Labour begins means-testing the benefit, according to the government’s own equality analysis.
After the government was criticised for not carrying out a full impact assessment of the change, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) quietly released a document on Friday night which predicted that about 780,000 pensioners whose low incomes mean they are eligible for the payment will stop getting it when it becomes means-tested.
From this winter, only pensioners who are entitled to receive pension credit or certain other benefits will continue to receive the winter fuel allowance, stripping an estimated 10 million pensioners of the tax-free payment of up to £300 a year.
The newly released government assessment, published in response to a freedom of information request, revealed that 880,000 pensioners who are entitled to pension credit do not claim this benefit. It predicted that only about 10% of them will have taken up the credit when the changes kick in, meaning 780,000 pensioners on low incomes will miss out on the winter fuel payments they are eligible for and currently receive.
The assessment also revealed that the changes, which the government has said are part of efforts to stabilise the economy and are expected to save about £1.3bn, would have a negative impact on the majority of pensioners with a disability and those aged over 80.
Nearly three-quarters (71%) of disabled pensioners – about 1.6 million people – and 83% of people over 80 will lose their entitlement to the payment, the figures showed.
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The BBC Radio 4 programme Money Box interviewed a disabled elderly couple from south Wales who have heart problems and serious life-limiting conditions, but do not qualify for pension credit as they have small private pensions. They will miss out on a winter fuel payment of £200 a year when the changes come into effect.
One of the couple, who is incontinent and did not wish to give her real name, said their energy bills had doubled in recent years, and they sometimes needed to choose between having clean clothes and bedding, turning on the heating or cooking a decent meal.
“You can’t live without heating, you can’t live without food and you certainly can’t live with dirty clothes and sheets et cetera, et cetera,” she said. “It’s really going to have a great effect on us, both mentally and physically.”
She said the thought of the payment disappearing was “frightening” her, and that the government wanted to let pensioners “die off”. “You get very depressed over it,” her husband added.
These figures are based on “equality analyses” which “are not impact assessments and not routinely published alongside secondary legislation”, the DWP wrote in its FoI response, adding that pensioners with a disability are disproportionately likely to retain the payment.
On Friday, after days of No 10 refusing to comment, Keir Starmer’s deputy spokesperson confirmed there had been no wider assessment to try to establish how many affected pensioners may face health vulnerabilities, and could thus be at risk.
The spokesperson told reporters the only assessment made before the policy announcement was a standard legal one of potential equalities impacts.
When Starmer was asked by reporters travelling with him to Washington DC whether an impact assessment of the policy would be published, he said: “There isn’t a report on my desk which somehow we’re not showing, that I’m not showing, as simple as that.”
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The Conservative party chair, Richard Fuller, said: “At the start of this week, Labour MPs marched through the lobbies to cover up the impact of the winter fuel cuts which will slash support for many pensioners in their own constituencies.
“This shocking new data, sneaked out by the government, now shows 780,000 people who should be entitled to the payment will lose out, as will 1.6 million people with a disability.”
He called on Labour to immediately conduct and publish a full impact assessment of “this harmful policy”.
The DWP said: “The government has followed its legal and statutory duties ahead of introducing these changes and will continue to do so.”
A government spokesperson said: “While it is not routine to publish advice as part of the development of policy, we have published the equality analysis on winter fuel payment eligibility.
“Our focus is on ensuring that those who should be claiming this support are receiving it alongside the wider support for vulnerable households, including the warm homes discount, worth £150, and household support fund to help people with the cost of living and energy bills.
“Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the winter fuel payment and, through our commitment to protect the triple lock, those on the full new state pension will receive an extra £400 – twice the average winter fuel payment.”
