Pensioners are furious with Labour over plans to scrap the winter fuel payment (Image: Getty)

Ministers failed to carry out a specific impact assessment on the scrapping of the winter fuel payment from millions of pensioners, Sir Keir Starmer has admitted.

His deputy spokesperson also said the only assessment made before the policy announcement was a standard legal one of potential equalities impacts.

This means the potential effect on illness and death rates among older people has not formally been assessed.

Speaking to reporters while travelling to Washington tonight, Sir Keir said: “There isn’t a report on my desk. You don’t have to do one for an exercise like this, but I can feel you think I have a report on my desk, I don’t.”

When pressed on whether he was comfortable not having one, he did not answer.

Sir Keir Starmer had been accused of “hiding” the impact of the Government’s winter fuel payment cuts in a clash with former Prime Minister Rishi SUnak at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister and his ministers had been criticised for not publishing the document, which will reduce the number of pensioners in receipt of the up to £300 payment by 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million.

Labour has argued the move to save more than £1 billion this year is required to help respond to a “£22 billion black hole” in the public finances left by the previous Tory administration.

Speaking at PMQs, Mr Sunak urged Sir Keir to publish the impact assessment for means-tested winter fuel payments.

He said: “We know why he’s hiding the impact assessment. The Labour Party’s own previous analysis claimed that this policy could cause 3,850 deaths.

“So, are the numbers in his impact assessment higher or lower than that?”

Sir Keir replied: “We’re taking this decision to stabilise the economy. That means we can commit to the triple lock.

“By committing to the triple lock we can make sure that payments of state pension are higher and therefore there’s more money in the pockets of pensioners, not withstanding the tough action we need to take.

“But he goes around pretending that everything is fine. That’s the argument he tried in the election and that’s why he’s sitting there and we are sitting here.”