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1587883

registered interest
date	21/02/2023
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total cost of Winter Fuel Payments to eligible households is for (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23.
tabling member constituency	Southampton, Test
tabling member printed	Dr Alan Whitehead
uin	149384
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/02/2023 answer text <p>The total cost of Winter Fuel Payments for 2021/22 was £1,971 million. The Winter Fuel Payment for 2022/23 also included the Pensioner Cost of Living Payment of £300 per household and the total cost is estimated to be £4.6 billion.</p> answering member constituency Sevenoaks answering member printed Laura Trott question first answered 24/02/2023 12:04:41 answering member 4780 label Biography information for Laura Trott
tabling member	62 label Biography information for Dr Alan Whitehead

1543102

registered interest
date	16/11/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Stedman-Scott on 27 October (HL2738), when they expect to have a figure available for the expenditure on the winter fuel allowance during the year 2020–21.
tabling member printed	Lord Marlesford
uin	HL3471
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2022 answer text <p>The DWP benefit and expenditure tables show the outturn for winter fuel payments for the year 2020/21 to be £1,958 million in nominal terms.</p><p> </p><p>Further detail can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2022</a></p><p> </p><p>The Winter Fuel Payment statistics for 2020/21 and 2021/22 have now been published and can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/winter-fuel-payments-caseload-and-household-figures" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/winter-fuel-payments-caseload-and-household-figures</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 29/11/2022 13:18:48 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	1854 label Biography information for Lord Marlesford

1524452

registered interest
date	19/10/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many households received the winter fuel allowance during the year 2021/22; what was the cost to public funds of this payment; and by how much the cost of the payment would have been reduced if it had been subject to income tax (1) on the same basis as is state retirement, and (2) only for taxpayers liable for higher rate 40 per cent income tax.
tabling member printed	Lord Marlesford
uin	HL2738
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/10/2022 answer text <p>The latest published winter fuel payment statistics for 2019/20 show that 8.2 million households in Great Britain received a winter fuel payment. The overall cost was £2bn.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold details of individuals’ taxable income therefore we cannot calculate how much the cost of the payment would have been reduced if it had been subject to income tax (1) on the same basis as is state retirement, and (2) only for taxpayers liable for higher rate 40 per cent income tax.</p> answering member printed Baroness Stedman-Scott question first answered 27/10/2022 13:08:21 answering member 4174 label Biography information for Baroness Stedman-Scott
tabling member	1854 label Biography information for Lord Marlesford

1504049

registered interest
date	02/09/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of revising the eligibility date of 25 September 1956 to qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment.
tabling member constituency	Cynon Valley
tabling member printed	Beth Winter
uin	45609
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2022 answer text <p>There are no plans to change the qualifying criteria for Winter Fuel Payments at this time.</p><p> </p><p>Winter fuel payments are an age-related payment made to those who have reached state pension age.</p><p> </p><p>For winter 2022/23 a person has to have reached State Pension age (which means a person must be born on or before 25 September 1956) on or before the end of the September qualifying week.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 17/09/2022 14:42:09 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	4809 label Biography information for Beth Winter

1471177

registered interest
date	16/06/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make it her policy to remove the qualifying date for the Winter Fuel Payment to ensure that all those in receipt of the State Pension will be eligible to receive this payment by the end of the calendar year.
tabling member constituency	Linlithgow and East Falkirk
tabling member printed	Martyn Day
uin	19649
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2022 answer text <p>The policy since the introduction of the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Amendment Regulations 1999 has been the same under all Governments: Labour; the Coalition; and Conservative.</p><p> </p><p>It has always been the aim to make Winter Fuel Payments before Christmas. Therefore, having a September qualifying week allows the Department the time to make the required checks on entitlement, calculate the payment an individual is entitled to, issue the notifications and start to make the payments; a process which begins in November.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP makes over 11 million Winter Fuel Payments every year. The majority - over 99% - are paid automatically without the need to claim before Christmas. A small number of pensioners need to claim the Winter Fuel Payment and have until 31 March 2023 to do so.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>There are no plans to change the qualifying criteria for Winter Fuel Payments. For winter 2022/23 a person has to have reached State Pension age on or before the end of the September qualifying week which is set out in legislation and is 19-25 September 2022.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 22/06/2022 16:10:19 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4488 label Biography information for Martyn Day

1420573

registered interest
date	07/02/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of offering people eligible for winter fuel payments the option of donating the sum they would receive to charity instead.
tabling member constituency	York Outer
tabling member printed	Julian Sturdy
uin	119541
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>Winter fuel payments give reassurance, particularly to poorer pensioners, that they can keep warm during the colder months. The department currently issues over 11 million winter fuel payments within a small delivery window. Introducing an option on the notification for customers to donate their winter fuel payment would introduce complexity to the process. Recipients are of course free to donate the payment to a charity of their choice.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 10/02/2022 16:50:21 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4079 label Biography information for Julian Sturdy

1402815

registered interest
date	13/01/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential need to increase winter fuel payment.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	103593
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2022 answer text <p>The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021 introduced a double lock and allowed the Government to increase pensions by the higher of inflation or 2.5%. From April 2022 state pensions will be increased by 3.1% and this represents an additional £4bn spend on pensioner benefits in 2022/23.</p><p> </p><p>Pension Credit also provides invaluable financial support for vulnerable pensioners. Around 1.4 million eligible pensioners across Great Britain receive some £5bn in Pension Credit, which tops up their retirement income and is a passport to other financial help such as support with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and a free TV licence for those over 75.</p><p> </p><p>Local Authorities in England have discretion to design their own bespoke local schemes within the overall parameters of the Household Support Fund, with support primarily focused on food, energy &amp; water bills and wider essentials. Up to 50% of the Fund is available for councils to spend on households without children, including those of State Pension age.</p><p> </p><p>Other support for pensioners includes Winter Fuel Payments which continue to be payable to customers of State Pension age. We pay £200 to households with a customer aged between 66 and 79 and £300 to a household with someone aged 80 or over. We pay over 11 million winter fuel payments annually at a cost of £2bn which is a significant contribution to winter fuel bills.</p><p> </p><p>Cold Weather Payments are also available and help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Warm Home Discount Scheme provides those in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit a discount of £140 on their energy bill providing their supplier is part of the scheme.</p><p>There are now 200 thousand fewer pensioners in absolute poverty (both before and after housing costs) than in 2009/10.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 101776 question first answered 19/01/2022 11:54:32 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1400408

registered interest
date	06/01/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to promote awareness of (a) winter fuel payments and (b) associated welfare provision.
tabling member constituency	Wolverhampton South West
tabling member printed	Stuart Anderson
uin	99068
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/01/2022 answer text <p>Winter fuel payments are supporting over 11 million pensioners with their energy bills. We are also continuing to encourage those eligible for Pension Credit to make a claim. Pension Credit provides invaluable financial support for vulnerable pensioners. Around 1.4 million eligible pensioners across Great Britain receive some £5bn in Pension Credit, which tops up their retirement income and is a passport to other financial help such as support with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and a free TV licence for those over 75.</p><p> </p><p>Cold Weather Payments are also available and help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy is responsible for the warm home discount scheme and the majority of those in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit receive their rebate automatically without needing to claim.</p><p> </p><p>Details of all three schemes can be found at:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/winter-fuel-payment</a></p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/cold-weather-payment</a></p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme</a></p><p> </p><p>The Social Security (Up-rating of Benefits) Act 2021 introduced a double lock and allowed the Government to increase pensions by the higher of inflation or 2.5%. From April 2022 state pensions will be increased by 3.1% and this represents an additional £4bn spend on pensioner benefits in 2022/23.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 12/01/2022 12:37:16 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4742 label Biography information for Stuart Anderson

1400500

registered interest
date	06/01/2022
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on raising the level of the Winter Fuel Allowance in 2022.
tabling member constituency	York Central
tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
uin	98990
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2022 answer text <p>The Government is committed to the winter fuel payment and will continue to pay £200 to households with someone of State Pension Age and £300 to households with some aged 80 or over. We pay over 11m winter fuel payments each year at an annual cost of £2bn; this is a significant contribution to winter fuel bills. We keep all of our policies under review however, there are no plans at the current time to increase the level of the winter fuel payment.</p><p> </p><p>Pension Credit also provides invaluable financial support for vulnerable pensioners. Around 1.4 million eligible pensioners across Great Britain receive some £5bn in Pension Credit, which tops up their retirement income and is a passport to other financial help such as support with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and a free TV licence for those over 75.</p><p> </p><p>Local Authorities in England have discretion to design their own bespoke local schemes within the overall parameters of the Household Support Fund, with support primarily focused on food, energy &amp; water bills and wider essentials. Up to 50% of the Fund is available for councils to spend on households without children, including those of State Pension age.</p><p> </p><p>Cold Weather Payments are also available and help vulnerable people in receipt of certain income-related benefits to meet additional heating costs, during periods of unseasonably cold weather between 1 November and 31 March. This includes older people in receipt of Pension Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The Warm Home Discount Scheme provides those in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit a discount of £140 on their energy bill providing their supplier is part of the scheme.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 11/01/2022 11:23:24 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1381804

registered interest
date	24/11/2021
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Winter Fuel Payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many of people eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment in 2020 did not receive payment as a result of a computer upgrade.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	81033
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2021 answer text <p>All eligible payments for the 20/21 year were issued based on the information DWP held, or subsequently reported by citizens.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 02/12/2021 12:19:23 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders