U-turn on winter fuel payments for millions of elderly

Some nine million pensioners in England and Wales will receive the winter fuel payment this winter, the Chancellor has announced in a £1.25 billion u-turn of Government plans.

- by Harriet Sutton

The payment, worth up to £300, will be restored to the vast majority of pensioners who previously received it because anyone with an income of under £35,000 a year will now get the payment automatically.

Rachel Reeves said the Government had “listened to people's concerns” about the decision to limit the payment to the poorest pensioners last winter, and was now able to widen eligibility because Labour had restored “stability” to the economy.