CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves has cut the Winter Fuel Payment in a bid to make up what she calls a £22 billion “black hole” in the UK’s finances.
The benefit sees people born before September 25, 1957 get between £250 and £600 to help pay heating bills, with most eligible people getting the money automatically.
But Labour have said the payment will now be means-tested and will not be paid out to people who are not on other benefits.
What does Labour's cut to the Winter Fuel Payment mean for people in Scotland?
From September, the Winter Fuel Payment is set to become a devolved benefit, meaning it will be controlled by the Scottish Government.
The UK Government will pass funding known as "Barnett Consequentials" to its Scottish counterpart based on what has been spent in England, and population share.
To cover the cost of the Winter Fuel Payment in 2024, the Scottish Government was expecting to be handed around £180 million.
However, Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee told the BBC on Tuesday that the Edinburgh government was expecting to receive something in the region of £100m less as a result of the cut to the Winter Fuel Payment south of the Border.
McKee said the Scottish Government would need to find £100m elsewhere in the Budget in order not to follow Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment.
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray suggested that increased public pay deals in England would increase the money flowing to Scotland, but McKee said those pay deals seemed to be funded from existing pots and so would not result in extra Barnett Consequentials.
So, will Scottish people receive a Winter Fuel Payment in 2024?
The question of whether people in Scotland will continue to receive the Winter Fuel Payments in 2024 as they did in 2023 is still up in the air.
McKee told the BBC that the Scottish Government “absolutely want” to continue paying the benefit to everyone eligible, but added: “We would very much like to keep the universal aspect of that benefit, but we need to look at the numbers very, very closely.”
It is unclear when the Scottish Government will make a decision on the payments, but it may not be until after a UK Budget is delivered in the autumn.
