Ofgem price cap rise brings renewed calls for winter fuel payment U-turn

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “We know that the oil and gas giants made tens of billions of pounds in profit, and when you think that old people are going to be making that consideration of whether or not they put their heating on this winter, it’s of deep, deep concern.” The York Central MP said she commended the Government for trying to make sure up to 880,000 pensioners eligible for pension credit sign up so they can get winter fuel payments, but said it was “insufficient for those people just above the pension credit threshold”. She said: “This latest bad news about the energy price cap rising quite significantly makes it even more obvious that means testing with virtually no notice and with no protections to safeguard vulnerable groups was the wrong policy choice and one that is potentially hazardous for some older people.” Both the Conservatives and the Greens have also called for winter fuel payments to be made available to all pensioners this winter following Ofgem’s announcement. Shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: “Because they weren’t honest about their plans, that means millions of pensioners will have made no plans to deal with higher energy bills this winter.” Means testing the winter fuel payment is expected to save the Government £1.4 billion this year, which Labour said was necessary to make up the gap between the previous government’s spending plans and the money that was made available to fund them. “While they were quick to blame everybody but themselves during the energy crisis, the Tories dragged their feet on energy security and took a hammer to the renewable energy sector, with working families still paying the price.” The Government also insisted that more than one million pensioners would still receive the winter fuel payment and urged any pensioner worried about the impact of higher bills to check if they are eligible for pension credit.