Debate contribution: Emergency Fuel Support for Winter 2024-25

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 19 November 2024.

MLA

Mr Gordon Lyons

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

19 November 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

Emergency Fuel Support for Winter 2024-25

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4665945

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Let me say this about the anti-poverty strategy: it has been a requirement, under the 1998 Act, for coming onto 26 years to deliver an anti-poverty strategy. None of the previous Ministers has been in a position to do that. As I have already confirmed and am happy to confirm again, that will be brought to the Executive in January. It has been a priority for me. I have been making progress on it. I want to make sure that it is fit for purpose. I want to make sure that I have buy-in from Executive colleagues, which is why I have set up an interdepartmental working group so that we can make progress on those issues and tackle the root causes of poverty and not just deal with the symptoms. As I have said, it will be brought forward, and I look forward to delivering, once more, in this Department.

This is a continuation of what was previously in place, albeit at a lower level. It is a one-off payment, and I think that we can all agree that it will be of value and worth because it is going to those who have otherwise been forgotten by the Labour Government.

Yes, absolutely. Again, I am happy to confirm to the House that good progress has been made on that. We need to tackle poverty in a number of ways. We need to make sure that we prevent people from falling into poverty, that we help those experiencing poverty and that we find a way to get people out of poverty. Those will be the three pillars of the strategy. It is about making sure that we break down the barriers to employment and that, for those who cannot get employment or older people in society, we have a safety net that means that they can live comfortable and warm lives.

We will be using the database that was used in the past, which, we believe, will cover everybody who is entitled. However, if there are any issues, as I said in the answer to a previous question, we will provide support to ensure that people can get in contact with us if there are any problems.

I would have hoped that the Member would welcome £100 for all those who lost out as a result of the Labour Government's changes. Why did I prioritise this? It is because I bid for and secured funding on the basis that it would be used to help those who had otherwise lost out. That money was ring-fenced from the Finance Minister to me for that purpose. I was not able to use it for anything else, because it was there to ameliorate some of the impacts of the winter fuel payment cut. It is fairly straightforward, I would have thought.

Certainty, most of my engagement with UK Departments has been with DWP. However, on the wider issue of the winter fuel payment and the need for its reinstatement, I have raised that at every opportunity with every UK Minister who has any responsibility in the area. It is a one-off payment, but I hope that the Government will reconsider their decision, see sense and restore that funding. The decision that they have made will end up costing them more. I encourage others in the House to make that case to the Government so that we can help those who are in need.

I am more than happy to have delivered for Mr Chambers and, more importantly, for many other people across Northern Ireland. On the engagement that I have had, many people contacted me to encourage me to take action like that which I am taking today. That will, I think, be welcomed. I know that there are questions about the universal nature of the payment, but we have to understand the processes, tools and levers that were available to us; they were limited. I wish that we were in a position simply to give the resource to those who are most in need, but, unfortunately, we have to take this approach. The organisations that the Member refers to will understand and recognise that action of a universal nature was needed because there was simply no alternative. I send a message to those who find that they do not need the funding that they have been given. I encourage them — I am sure that the Member agrees, as he is nodding — to consider giving that support to the fantastic charities and organisations that help those who are in need. I hope that the Member will consider that.

As many Members will be aware, changes made by the Labour Government restricted those who would receive the winter fuel payment to the category of pensioners in receipt a benefit, such as pension credit. I have decided that those who previously got the payment but are no longer eligible will get support of £100 that will be paid directly into the bank account that receives their pension. I am pleased to confirm that there will be no application process. When it comes to email and other types of scam, do not send your personal information. You will not be requested to fill out a form or do anything like that — it will be automatic. I want to make sure that that message hits home today, because I do not want the payment to be used as an opportunity for anyone to take advantage of our older citizens.

I understand that. I recognise that many people who do not need the payment — it will not be essential for them — will get it, but I was in the position of having to decide what to do with the money that I had secured. First, it was right to bid for the money from the household support fund. It was appropriate to use that for older people. The question then became, "How do I distribute that money?". Doing it on the basis of what we have and the decision that I have announced today makes it universal. Using the IT system is the only way for us to get the money out quickly, without going through an application process and needing people in the Department to manually process it. Very few options were available to me to get that money out, but, as I said, I would rather find myself in the position of giving some money to those who do not need it than see those who do need it get nothing at all.

1,093 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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