UK Winter Fuel Payments Scrapped for Millions Amid Budget Cuts

[Social Media]

 

Around 10 million pensioners in England and Wales will lose their winter fuel payments under new plans announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves. Starting this autumn, those not on pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer receive the annual payments, which range between £100 and £300. This decision comes alongside a series of significant cuts, including the cancellation of a planned cap on social care costs and the axing of several major rail and road projects. Reeves cited the previous government's "undisclosed" overspending as the reason for these "urgent decisions."

 

Shadow Chancellor Jeremy Hunt called Reeves's claims “spurious,” arguing that the Conservatives had been transparent about the state of public finances while in power. He also noted that Reeves had consulted with Treasury officials before the election. The Scottish government expressed disappointment over the changes to the winter fuel payment, stating they were made “without any consultation or discussion” between ministers. The responsibility for this payment is set to transfer to the Scottish Government this winter, to be replaced with a Scottish equivalent, the pension age winter heating payment. In Northern Ireland, ministers will decide whether to follow the UK government’s decision to restrict winter fuel payments.

 

In a packed House of Commons, Reeves referred to a public spending audit she had requested from Treasury officials, describing the economic legacy she had inherited as "unforgivable." She announced several measures designed to reduce spending. However, she also confirmed that public sector pay recommendations were being accepted in full. This includes 5.5% rises for NHS workers and teachers, 6% for the armed forces, 5% for the prison service, and 4.75% for the police. Additionally, junior doctors have been offered a 22% pay rise over two years. These pay deals will cost an additional £9.4 billion, with two-thirds funded by central government and all departments asked to find savings totaling £3 billion to cover the rest.

 

Reeves explained that the pay awards and recalculated departmental spending resulted in a "£22 billion hole in the public finances," necessitating immediate spending reductions. Several infrastructure projects have been scrapped, including a two-mile road tunnel near Stonehenge, a bypass for the A27 in West Sussex, Boris Johnson’s plan to build 40 new hospitals in England by 2030, and the Restoring Your Railway Fund. Additionally, Reeves said that several policies from the previous Conservative government would not proceed, including a planned cap on care charges for older people, the planned sale of publicly owned NatWest shares, the Rwanda deportation scheme for illegal migrants, and the Advanced British Standard, which was to replace A-Levels and T-Levels.

 

While Hunt disputed the idea of hidden overspends, some economists, including the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), seem to support some of Reeves's claims of surprises in departmental budgets. However, her decisions have been labeled a "political choice" by economists and Conservative politicians. Paul Johnson, director of the IFS, noted that "half of [the] spending 'hole' is public pay over which the government made a choice and where pressures were known."

 

Addressing MPs, a visibly angry Reeves said the former government had committed to spending money it did not have and had not informed the independent economic watchdog, the OBR, about this. "How dare they?" she said, referring to claims the books were "open." She cited an unfunded overspend of £6.4 billion on the asylum system, including the Rwanda scheme, a figure that Paul Johnson from the IFS described as "huge" and genuinely unfunded. The OBR, in a letter published on Monday, noted it had been "made aware of the extent of these pressures at a meeting with the Treasury last week," indicating it could be "one of the largest year-ahead overspends against... forecasts outside of the pandemic years." The OBR is reviewing how it prepared its forecast for the March 2024 Budget and will assess "the adequacy of the information and the assurances provided to the OBR by the Treasury regarding departmental spending."

 

Hunt denied the previous Conservative government had covered anything up and accused Labour of misleading the public on tax rises. "Taxes will have to go up, and she chose not to tell us," he said, predicting that Reeves's first Budget would be the "biggest betrayal in history by a new chancellor." During her speech, Reeves announced that the next Budget would be on October 30. She also stated that public sector spending reviews looking ahead three years will now take place every two years, with the last one conducted in 2021. A Covid corruption probe will aim to recover the £2.6 billion Labour says was "lost" in dodgy contracts signed during the pandemic. In line with Labour's manifesto, private schools will be taxed at 20% starting January 1 next year, and oil and gas companies will face a higher windfall tax. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney urged Labour to go further in making large companies "pay their fair share" of tax.

 

Labour has previously stated it will not borrow to fund "day-to-day costs," meaning it would only pay for current expenditure using the money it raises in tax. It also pledged to have debt falling by the end of the parliament. During the election campaign, the Conservatives made similar commitments on taxation and spending. Economists said at the time that both parties would either need to cut spending or raise taxes under their self-imposed fiscal rules.

 

Credit: BBC  2024-07-31

 

 

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[Chomper Higgot]

Government inherits £22Billion hole in public finances is the real news.

 

 

[James105]

11 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Government inherits £22Billion hole in public finances is the real news.

 

 

 

Labour lie about "finding" a hole in publicly available books shocker.  

 

£3bn of taxpayers money given to Ukraine

£9.6bn given to public sector workers on inflation busting pay rise.

 

I imagine a significant portion of the 1 in 5 of the electorate that actually voted for Labour will already be feeling a lot of voter regret right now.   Only 4 years and 48 weeks to go until that mistake can be corrected, but who knows what damage these clowns will cause by then.   Not even the "nasty party" took away the winter fuel allowance from some of the most vulnerable in society.   

[Chomper Higgot]

14 minutes ago, James105 said:

 

Labour lie about "finding" a hole in publicly available books shocker.  

 

£3bn of taxpayers money given to Ukraine

£9.6bn given to public sector workers on inflation busting pay rise.

 

I imagine a significant portion of the 1 in 5 of the electorate that actually voted for Labour will already be feeling a lot of voter regret right now.   Only 4 years and 48 weeks to go until that mistake can be corrected, but who knows what damage these clowns will cause by then.   Not even the "nasty party" took away the winter fuel allowance from some of the most vulnerable in society.   

I imagine millions of public service workers will be glad of the pay rise they’ve been denied for so long, while £hundreds of millions were waisted on corrupt schemes run by Tory Government chums and pished away in Rwanda.

 

Pensioners who are not in receipt of Pension Credit or other Means Tested Benefits are far from ‘the most vulnerable in society’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[James105]

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

I imagine millions of public service workers will be glad of the pay rise they’ve been denied for so long, while £hundreds of millions were waisted on corrupt schemes run by Tory Government chums and pished away in Rwanda.

 

Pensioners who are not in receipt of Pension Credit or other Means Tested Benefits are far from ‘the most vulnerable in society’.

 

 

[RuamRudy]

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

 

Pensioners who are not in receipt of Pension Credit or other Means Tested Benefits are far from ‘the most vulnerable in society’.

 

 

I believe that the threshold is around £235 a week - receive a penny  more than that and you lose out. I don't think I would feel financially secure on £235 a week in the UK at the moment. 

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, James105 said:

 

Labour lie about "finding" a hole in publicly available books shocker.  

 

£3bn of taxpayers money given to Ukraine

£9.6bn given to public sector workers on inflation busting pay rise.

 

I imagine a significant portion of the 1 in 5 of the electorate that actually voted for Labour will already be feeling a lot of voter regret right now.   Only 4 years and 48 weeks to go until that mistake can be corrected, but who knows what damage these clowns will cause by then.   Not even the "nasty party" took away the winter fuel allowance from some of the most vulnerable in society.   

Not happy with Labour balancing the budget?

[James105]

1 hour ago, stevenl said:

Not happy with Labour balancing the budget?

 

Balancing the budget?  Did the Tories leave so much money in the pot the only way they could balance it is to give £3bn to Ukraine and £9.6bn in inflation busting pay rises?  I doubt that taking this away from the vulnerable will even raise £1bn after costs are factored in for means testing it.  

[Chomper Higgot]

21 minutes ago, James105 said:

 

Balancing the budget?  Did the Tories leave so much money in the pot the only way they could balance it is to give £3bn to Ukraine and £9.6bn in inflation busting pay rises?  I doubt that taking this away from the vulnerable will even raise £1bn after costs are factored in for means testing it.  

What costs of means testing?

 

If a pensioner is in receipt of Pension Credits or Means Tested Benefits (ie already means tested), they get the wi tee fuels allowance.

 

If not, they don’t get it.

 

No additional means testing required.

[Nick Carter icp]

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Government inherits £22Billion hole in public finances is the real news.

 

 

 

   You must have missed this bit 

 

Reeves explained that the pay awards and recalculated departmental spending resulted in a "£22 billion hole in the public finances,

 

    

 

[Chomper Higgot]

Just now, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   You must have missed this bit 

 

Reeves explained that the pay awards and recalculated departmental spending resulted in a "£22 billion hole in the public finances,

 

    

 

You probably missed the fact the pay awards were outstanding after years of suppression and the recalculation of department spending was due to budget deficits that had been ‘hidden’.

 

 

[Nick Carter icp]

6 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You probably missed the fact the pay awards were outstanding after years of suppression and the recalculation of department spending was due to budget deficits that had been ‘hidden’.

 

 

 

 

  It was Reeves and Labour who gave the pay rises and are responsible to the Billions black hole 

     Reeves confirms public sector pay rises of 5-6%

 

The chancellor has confirmed that millions of public sector workers will get a pay rise this year, following recommendations from the independent pay review bodies.

Most NHS workers, teachers and members of the armed forces will receive above-inflation pay rises of 5.5% to 6%, Rachel Reeves announced yesterday as she presented an audit of government finances to the House of Commons.

 

 

 

   https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/public-sector-pay-rises/

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

 

  It was Reeves and Labour who gave the pay rises and are responsible to the Billions black hole 

     Reeves confirms public sector pay rises of 5-6%

 

The chancellor has confirmed that millions of public sector workers will get a pay rise this year, following recommendations from the independent pay review bodies.

Most NHS workers, teachers and members of the armed forces will receive above-inflation pay rises of 5.5% to 6%, Rachel Reeves announced yesterday as she presented an audit of government finances to the House of Commons.

 

 

 

   https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/public-sector-pay-rises/

 

 

Nothing to do with the ridiculous attempt to bribe the electorate with cuts to NI....which are estimated to cost £22 billion?

[RuamRudy]

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

 

  It was Reeves and Labour who gave the pay rises and are responsible to the Billions black hole 

     Reeves confirms public sector pay rises of 5-6%

 

The chancellor has confirmed that millions of public sector workers will get a pay rise this year, following recommendations from the independent pay review bodies.

Most NHS workers, teachers and members of the armed forces will receive above-inflation pay rises of 5.5% to 6%, Rachel Reeves announced yesterday as she presented an audit of government finances to the House of Commons.

 

 

 

   https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/public-sector-pay-rises/

 

Possibly stereotyping, but pensioners more likely to vote tory; public sector workers more likely to vote Labour. 

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

 

  It was Reeves and Labour who gave the pay rises and are responsible to the Billions black hole 

     Reeves confirms public sector pay rises of 5-6%

 

The chancellor has confirmed that millions of public sector workers will get a pay rise this year, following recommendations from the independent pay review bodies.

Most NHS workers, teachers and members of the armed forces will receive above-inflation pay rises of 5.5% to 6%, Rachel Reeves announced yesterday as she presented an audit of government finances to the House of Commons.

 

 

 

   https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/public-sector-pay-rises/

There’s a lot of work to be done fixing 14 years of Tory mismanagement, much of which will be done by those working in the public sector, they deserve a living wage.

 

Meanwhile, there’s huge savings by cancelling the Rwanda scam and hundreds of millions to be revived from COVID related corruption.

 

The budget is going to be fun.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

Nothing to do with the ridiculous attempt to bribe the electorate with cuts to NI....which are estimated to cost £22 billion?

And de-link contributions from pension rights, immediately making pensions a ‘benefit’ not an earned and paid for entitlement.

[Will B Good]

Just now, RuamRudy said:

 

Possibly stereotyping, but pensioners more likely to vote tory; public sector workers more likely to vote Labour. 

 

That crossed my mind as well.

 

I would not be surprised, if it is possible, that the state pension will become means tested. 

 

Bearing in mind the phenomenal cost of the state pension and the panic it causes politicians when they look into the future.....why not?

[Chomper Higgot]

1 minute ago, Will B Good said:

 

That crossed my mind as well.

 

I would not be surprised, if it is possible, that the state pension will become means tested. 

 

Bearing in mind the phenomenal cost of the state pension and the panic it causes politicians when they look into the future.....why not?

Because it’s an earned entitlement.

 

But I have zero doubt that the proposed cancellation of NI was intended to break the link between payment of NI and entitlement to pensions.

 

It’s a common refrain, ‘we earned our pensions’.

 

No other ‘benefit’ is do firmly linked in people’s minds as something they have earned.

[James105]

14 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You probably missed the fact the pay awards were outstanding after years of suppression and the recalculation of department spending was due to budget deficits that had been ‘hidden’.

 

Public sector productivity is way down though:

 

"Public sector productivity measures the volume of services delivered against the volume of inputs - like salaries and government funding - that are needed to maintain those services.  It remains 6.8% lower than its pre-pandemic level, and far below the norms of even 25 years ago."

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-public-sector-productivity-goes-bad-worse-ons-data-shows-2024-05-03/

 

What did they do to earn this pay increase?  They should be looking at a 6.8% pay cut to "balance the books", just as they would be facing if this was their performance levels in the private sector.   When they get their productivity levels 5-6% above pre-pandemic levels then perhaps they should have the temerity to ask for that above inflation pay rise.  

[Chomper Higgot]

8 minutes ago, James105 said:

 

Public sector productivity is way down though:

 

"Public sector productivity measures the volume of services delivered against the volume of inputs - like salaries and government funding - that are needed to maintain those services.  It remains 6.8% lower than its pre-pandemic level, and far below the norms of even 25 years ago."

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-public-sector-productivity-goes-bad-worse-ons-data-shows-2024-05-03/

 

What did they do to earn this pay increase?  They should be looking at a 6.8% pay cut to "balance the books", just as they would be facing if this was their performance levels in the private sector.   When they get their productivity levels 5-6% above pre-pandemic levels then perhaps they should have the temerity to ask for that above inflation pay rise.  

Now under new management.

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Now under new management.

Yes, the new Labour Gov, who are supposed to represent the working class, the poor, will now do what they always do, TAX THEM.

 

Not only that, they will build houses for all your chums that are creeping into the UK, for even more ghetto's.....🤨

 

But the UK cannot complain, they knew what they were voting for.......

[Chomper Higgot]

8 minutes ago, transam said:

Yes, the new Labour Gov, who are supposed to represent the working class, the poor, will now do what they always do, TAX THEM.

 

Not only that, they will build houses for all your chums that are creeping into the UK, for even more ghetto's.....🤨

 

But the UK cannot complain, they knew what they were voting for.......

Do you mind if we wait to see what taxes Labour change and who pays those taxes.

[James105]

22 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Now under new management.

 

And the first thing new management have done is reward them for this failure.   Tell me you have never run a business without telling me you have never run a business.   

[roo860]

Could save 11.5 billion by not sending it overseas for Climate Aid.

 

 

[transam]

58 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Do you mind if we wait to see what taxes Labour change and who pays those taxes.

Classic lefty dodge........😂

[hotandsticky]

1 hour ago, transam said:

Yes, the new Labour Gov, who are supposed to represent the working class, the poor, will now do what they always do, TAX THEM.

 

Not only that, they will build houses for all your chums that are creeping into the UK, for even more ghetto's.....🤨

 

But the UK cannot complain, they knew what they were voting for.......

 

 

 

I blame the Tories for their mismanagement and handing government on a plate to Labour.

[transam]

6 minutes ago, hotandsticky said:

 

 

 

I blame the Tories for their mismanagement and handing government on a plate to Labour.

Indeed, all started over a beer.............😏

[soalbundy]

Paying tax in Thailand and living here doesn't seem so bad now does it, imagine feeling hungry and freezing in the dark in merry old England and paying for the privilege, would make one want to meet a caring thug with a knife on a crowded street and have done with it.

[Chomper Higgot]

40 minutes ago, roo860 said:

Could save 11.5 billion by not sending it overseas for Climate Aid.

 

 

Who made such a pledge and when?

[Chomper Higgot]

13 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Paying tax in Thailand and living here doesn't seem so bad now does it, imagine feeling hungry and freezing in the dark in merry old England and paying for the privilege, would make one want to meet a caring thug with a knife on a crowded street and have done with it.

Until you need healthcare.