Chaos fears over return of winter fuel payments

Bereaved families of tens of thousands of dead pensioners could be pursued by tax officials to recoup winter fuel payments under a new system being explored by the Treasury, the Guardian has learned.

- Pippa Crerar

Rachel Reeves confirmed yesterday that more pensioners would get winter fuel payments reinstated this year after weeks of uncertainty over the government's decision to make a U-turn on scrapping the benefit.

Ministers are looking at restoring the payments as a universal benefit and then recouping the money when high-income pensioners fill in their tax returns - because creating a new means test would be a highly complex option.

However, government insiders are concerned about a time lag of at least six months between the payment of up to £300 being made and being clawed back. Thousands of people could die in that period, leaving grieving families to pick up the bill.

"We should never have scrapped the winter fuel payment in the first place, but the whole process of reinstating it has been completely chaotic," one source said. "The optics of us demanding the money back from grieving families are just dire."

The chancellor has brought forward confirmation of the change to the £11,500 income threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for the benefit to next week's spending review, from the autumn budget, after a backlash against one of the most unpopular policies of the Labour government.

In a further attempt to win public support and quell Labour backbench concerns, ministers are announcing today that all pupils in England whose families claim universal credit will be eligible for free school meals under an expansion of the scheme.

Hundreds of thousands more children across the country will be able to access means-tested free school meals when the provision is extended from September 2026. Campaigners and school leavers had urged ministers to take action on child poverty.