SNP scraps universal winter fuel payments for pensioners but blames Labour

The Scottish Government has announced that universal winter fuel payments for pensioners in Scotland will be scrapped.

The SNP administration has blamed the UK government for the move, saying it had “no choice” but to follow the cuts announced by Labour minister Rachel Reeves.

The annual benefit previously given to all pensioners, worth up to £300 a year, will now be means-tested so that it is available only to the most vulnerable older people.

SNP leader and First Minister John Swinney had condemned Reeves’ decision to abandon universal pay in England and Wales last month.

But SNP Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said on Wednesday the Scottish Government now had “no choice” but to follow suit given looming budget cuts.

“This has been a very difficult decision and not one we wanted or expected to make,” Somerville said.

“However, despite all efforts to review our financial situation, this is a necessary decision when we are faced with such a deep budget cut and in the most difficult financial circumstances since devolution.”

Ms Somerville said Ms Reeves’ decision on winter fuel payments would lead to a £140m cut in funding given to Scotland, so a means test would be necessary.

Until now, the winter fuel payment was available to everyone over state pension age: £200 for those under 80 and £300 for those over 80.

But from now on only those who receive pension credits and other means-tested benefits will have access to the winter fuel payment.

The Northern Ireland executive, where decisions on the benefit are devolved, has not yet said whether universal payments will continue. But charities fear the Belfast administration will also follow cuts made in England, Wales and Scotland.

The Scottish Government had planned to replace the winter fuel payment with an equivalent benefit, the Retirement Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP), later this year.

The SNP administration has now decided to delay the introduction of the Holyrood-administered equivalent benefit until winter 2025.

The end of the universal grant means that only around 1.5 million people in the UK will be eligible for winter fuel payments, down from 11.4 million.

Charities have warned it could be a “death sentence” for some pensioners, with Age UK estimating that at least two million vulnerable people who rely on the payment to pay their bills will no longer receive it.

Miles Briggs, social security spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, said the SNP’s decision to follow Labour’s lead in scrapping the universal winter fuel payment was “a huge blow to many Scottish pensioners”. He claimed the SNP was trying to “dishonestly pretend they had no choice in the matter”.

Pensioners who do not receive means-tested benefits but are worried about their energy bills without winter fuel payment have said Yo They feel “betrayed” by the cut.

The measure has not been well received by the general public. A survey conducted by Yo A BMG Research study found that 46 percent of voters opposed cutting the benefit, compared with just 29 percent who were in favor.

Adam Stachura, policy director at Age Scotland, said it was “infuriating” that many older people would not be able to receive the vital winter fuel payment even when it is transferred to Scotland next year.

He said the charity had “desperately hoped” the Scottish Government could find a way to be “more generous” than the UK Government.

“At least a quarter of a million Scottish pensioners on the lowest incomes or living in fuel poverty will no longer receive this vital financial support during the winter months.”

Meanwhile, Scotland’s Finance Secretary Shona Robison has warned of “tough decisions” ahead as the latest figures from the Scottish Government’s Revenue and Spending Report (GERS) showed a net fiscal deficit of £22.68 billion in 2023-24, compared with just over £18 billion the previous year.

Asked whether the dire financial situation could ruin public services, he said: “We will make sure they don’t fall apart… But we will have to decide what we deprioritise, and that work is ongoing.”

GERS figures released on Wednesday also showed that government spending per head in Scotland is £2,417 higher than in the rest of the UK, with £20,418 spent on average for every person north of the border.

Scottish Labour’s finance spokesman Michael Marra said that despite higher public spending per capita in Scotland, “Scots will be right to wonder why they are not seeing better public services as a result of this additional public spending.”