The Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, refused to back down on plans to cut Winter Fuel Payments in her speech to Labour's annual conference, according to the End Fuel Poverty Coalition1. The Energy Secretary used the same conference to announce a plan to ensure warm homes for all renters, in both private and social rented housing1.
Under the rental plans, landlords will be banned from renting out properties that do not meet stricter energy efficiency standards1. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said the measures follow confirmation by the Deputy Prime Minister of a raft of measures on housing quality1. The coalition said the cuts affect 1.2m pensioners in absolute poverty and 1.6m older people with disabilities1.
"The Chancellor doubled down on her gamble with older people's lives to fill a budgetary black hole, which according to reports is £10bn less than was initially claimed."
The coalition said the budgetary gap is £10bn less than was initially claimed, and that this is before the government takes receipt of £3bn it is recovering from the collapse of an energy firm1. It said personal finance experts point out that the state pension rise starts next April, when pensioners face an energy bills crisis now, that up to 800,000 of the poorest pensioners get less than the full state pension and do not get Pension Credit, and that the full rise applies only to the one in four pensioners who get the "new" state pension1.
On housing conditions, the coalition cited research by Opinium for the Warm This Winter campaign among a representative sample of 2,000 UK adults in November 20231:
| Tenure | Share living in cold damp homes |
|---|---|
| Own outright | 13% |
| Own with a mortgage | 12% |
| Private rented | 25% |
| Rented from a local authority | 23% |
| Rented from a housing association | 19% |
Caroline Simpson, a Warm This Winter campaign spokesperson, said UK properties are some of the worst insulated in Europe and that energy bills remain 65% more than they were at the start of the energy crisis1. The coalition said people in rented accommodation are almost twice as likely to live in cold damp homes as people who own their properties1.
Why it matters for households
The Winter Fuel Payment is a payment to pensioner households, and the decision not to reverse the cut means the eligibility rules for this winter stand as announced. For pensioner households that lose the payment, the amount of income available for heating is reduced at the point when the coalition says bills remain 65% above their level at the start of the energy crisis1. The coalition's figures indicate that the pension rise cited as compensation does not arrive until next April, and does not reach all pensioners in the same way1.
For renters, the proposed standards would apply to the fabric of the property rather than to the bill, so any effect on a household's energy independence depends on landlords carrying out the work. The coalition said improvements will take months or years to be felt by tenants1. Households comparing the two support routes can read our guide to the Warm Home Discount and the Winter Fuel Payment.
What happens next
The coalition called on the government to revoke the Winter Fuel Payment cuts for this year and to commit to more support for vulnerable households1. It also called on ministers to move to action on rented housing standards rather than hold further consultations, and to ring fence funding for local authorities to carry out energy efficiency upgrades in social housing1. No dates for legislation or for a vote on the payments have been reported.