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The government has assessed the number of people who will be pushed into fuel poverty by its winter fuel payment cuts, but will not publish the figures until after MPs vote on the measure, The Independent can reveal.
Answering a parliamentary question from former Labour frontbencher John McDonnell, energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh confirmed her department has assessed the impact the policy change will have on pensioners living in fuel poverty.
But, asked by Mr McDonnell and The Independent, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero refused to say when the document would be published, only promising that it would be “in due course”.
Her answer suggests that while the department has carried out the analysis, it will not be published until after MPs have voted on the measure. Mr McDonnell said “it is no way to implement policy” and he is “fearful of the impact on those who will be put at serious risk”.
And left-wing Labour MP Kim Johnson told The Independent that “failing to release this crucial information only gives rise to the suspicion that there are details within that the government would prefer to keep hidden”.
It comes as MPs prepare to vote on Tuesday on the controversial measure, which Rachel Reeves estimates will save the Treasury £1.5bn. Pressure on the party increased on Monday as resurfaced research by Labour, from when the Tories proposed means testing winter fuel payments in 2017, claimed the move would kill 4,000 pensioners.
Around 10 million people are expected to be directly impacted by the plans announced by the chancellor in July. The decision, made ahead of Ms Reeves’s first budget next month, will axe the payment of up to £300 for all pensioners except those in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits. It comes as regulator Ofgem raises its energy price cap by 10 per cent.
The president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned Sir Keir that his lack of hope and a new round of austerity will fuel rise of the far right in forgotten communities and bolster Nigel Farage’s push to win power.
Matt Wrack, the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary who is currently president of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said in an exclusive interview with The Independent that the cuts to winter fuel payments will hamper efforts to tackle the rise of the far right.
Meanwhile, an early day motion put forward by new Labour MP Neil Duncan-Jordan opposing the measure has now been signed by five more Labour figures. The motion has now been signed by 36 MPs, including six suspended Labour MPs and 18 current Labour members.
Former shadow chancellor Mr McDonnell, who has had the Labour whip suspended for rebelling against the government over the two-child benefit cap, said it is “irresponsible for the Government to expect MPs to vote for a policy, which could put many of our constituents at risk, without providing Parliament with any assessment of how many more people will be forced into fuel poverty”.
He told The Independent: “I am fearful of the impact on many people whose lives will be made so much harder and for some who will be put at serious risk.
“This is no way to implement policy and I am still hoping the prime minister and chancellor will think again.
“There are so many good policies being brought forward in these first few weeks of the new government, many drawn from the manifestos of 2017 and 2019, that to spoil this honeymoon period in this way is deeply regrettable.”
Mr McDonnell had asked the department what estimate it had made of the changes to winter fuel payments on the number of people living in fuel poverty. Ms Fahnbulleh said: “A statistical publication estimating the rate of fuel poverty for those in receipt of Winter Fuel Payment in 2023, and the proportion of households who would be in fuel poverty under new eligibility criteria, will be published in due course.”
Liverpool Riverside MP Ms Johnson has piled pressure on the government to produce an impact assessment of the policy, but has also been rebuffed. She said: “By stating that details ‘will be published in due course’, the government is not protecting the public interest but rather shielding itself from accountability.
“I urge the government to do the right thing and release this information without further delay before tomorrow’s important vote. Parliamentarians deserve to be fully informed of the catastrophic impact that the cut may have on our pensioners.
“The Winter Fuel Payment provides a lifeline to many and as we approach the most challenging months of the year, the government’s responsibility to protect those most in need must be upheld.”
Downing Street on Monday confirmed there will be no additional support for those affected by the withdrawal of winter fuel payments. Applications for pension credit have more than doubled in the past five weeks, compared with five weeks earlier.
Sir Keir’s official spokesman said: “Tough decisions are unpopular decisions but it is the tough decisions that will enable change for this country.”
And asked about the impact assessment for the policy, the spokesman said the government would not “give a running commentary on the advice ministers receive”.
