Member's statement: Winter Fuel Payment: U-turn

Member's statement by Ms Diane Forsythe on 10 June 2025.

MLA

Ms Diane Forsythe

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

10 June 2025

Type

Member's statement

Business

Members' Statements

Heading

Winter Fuel Payment: U-turn

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5000961

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Last year, we all got a nasty shock when one of the first things that the new Labour Government did on taking up power was to cut the winter fuel payment to pensioners across the United Kingdom. They cited the financial black hole and the need for cuts, but why the winter fuel payment? It cut deep to the heart of our society, taking from our older generation, from those who have worked all of their lives through many tough times and paid their contributions. Now, in later years, one of the few things that they received was the winter fuel payment to give them a boost for their heat and comfort through the winter. If ever there was a sore blow, it was that one, hitting hard at some of the most vulnerable. I say "vulnerable", but I will tell you something: most were up for a real fight on this one. I am sure that constituency offices across the country were, like mine, inundated with people expressing outrage at the move. We all know people who were affected, including our neighbours, our family members and our friends. The lack of transparency of the Labour Government was terrible. There was no mention in the manifesto and no warning; they just hit our pensioners hard. In Northern Ireland, our Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, found that unacceptable, and he took steps within his already tight budget to reduce the impact by giving one-off £100 support payments to Northern Ireland pensioners. That was welcome but did not fully replace what was lost. The Labour Government have made some really poor decisions, with huge impacts, since they took power. They have hit our pensioners, family farms and small businesses hard, and I am glad to see the U-turn on the winter fuel payment. I hope that it is the start of further U-turns. The decision to reverse the cuts to winter fuel payment will see pensioners with incomes of up to £35,000 receive £200 if they are under 80 years old and £300 if they are aged 80 and over this winter. Gordon Lyons has confirmed that his officials are already working with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to understand how the changes that have been announced will be implemented to ensure that Northern Ireland is ready to follow suit. Our pensioners deserve better, all of them. No one who has worked hard all of their life and contributed to society should be left worrying about how to heat their home. The question that has to be asked is this: why was it necessary to deny hundreds of thousands of pensioners support last winter? The excuse that it has been reversed because of economic improvements does not bear scrutiny. There has been no change, and, later this week, we will see that the Government are still trying to deal with the fiscal situation when they cut budgets for Departments. It is good to see that, even with a huge majority, whilst the Labour Government may be able to force some things through Parliament, they still cannot ignore the overwhelming views and protests of the electorate. The DUP supports and values our pensioners.

532 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:41 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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