No assessment of the impact of the winter fuel payment reduction

The Government has failed to carry out an impact assessment of the reduction in winter fuel support for millions of pensioners in England and Wales, the Prime Minister has said.

Sir Keir Starmer said he had not been shown any analysis in private about the potential impact of his decision to cut benefits for older people not receiving pension credit.

His comments came after the Conservatives called for the publication of a possible impact assessment.

Sir Keir said: “There is not a single report on my desk that we cannot produce.”

Speaking to reporters on a flight to the US, the prime minister added: “I know you think there’s a report on my desk, but there isn’t.”

According to him, it is not legally necessary for an official assessment of the plan to take place in advance.

A Downing Street spokesman had previously said: “There are clear rules on this, which we have followed closely.”

No 10 pointed out that the mechanism the Government has chosen to implement this change, known as a statutory instrument, only requires an impact assessment if the cost of the legislation exceeds £10 million – which it does not in this case.

During Prime Minister’s Question Time on Wednesday, Conservative Party leader Rishi Sunak said demanded The government published its impact assessment of the measure and accused Sir Keir of “hiding” the analysis.

Sir Keir said on Thursday that the decision to scrap the winter fuel allowance, worth up to £300 a year, for millions of pensioners was necessary to stabilise the economy and that the government was implementing “restrictions”.

“The impact will be mitigated by pension credit and rent subsidies,” the prime minister continued.

The government has encouraged pensioners to check if they are eligible for pension credit and, if so, to apply. This would mean they would also continue to receive the winter fuel payment.

Analysis by the House of Commons Library say that 10.8 million pensioners in England and Wales received the winter fuel payment last winter. 1.5 million will receive the payment next winter.