Labour MPs ‘shocked’ at no full winter fuel assessment

The government revealed this week that there had been no wide-ranging assessment of the impact of winter fuel cuts, but a more limited “equalities analysis” was released, as a result of a freedom of information request.

Drawn up by officials in the Work and Pensions Department, it suggested some of the most vulnerable could still lose out on payments.

While 100,000 more pensioners are expected to claim Pension Credit, and therefore retain the winter fuel payment, the document anticipated that more than 750,000 who are eligible still won’t apply.

The over 80s are expected to sustain the largest financial hit.

The Conservatives said this data was “shocking” – and called for the government to commission and publish a full impact statement of the cuts.

Those calls are being echoed – privately – by some of Sir Keir Starmer’s own MPs.

One of them told me the lack of a full assessment “is shocking, and I find it profoundly depressing”.

The MP said the issue wasn’t going away, critical emails were continuing to flow into their inbox, and people would be concerned if there was no information on how elderly people might be affected.

Another said: “It’s pretty shocking that the government have not carried out an assessment especially given the concerns raised by backbenchers and across the House.”

One of their colleagues said: “It may well be that an assessment wasn’t legally required.

“But it was clearly morally required.”

My conversations with Labour MPs have been non-attributable, as there is a reluctance to speak out publicly at this stage.

That’s partly because, I’m told, government whips are closely monitoring dissenting voices.

But it’s also because some MPs behind the scenes are still hopeful that they can wrest some mitigation from the Chancellor in next month’s budget, so don’t want to antagonise No 11.