Debate contribution: Winter Fuel Payment

Debate contribution by Mr Gordon Lyons on 10 June 2025.

MLA

Mr Gordon Lyons

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

10 June 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

Winter Fuel Payment

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5001633

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I wish to make a statement to update the Assembly regarding winter fuel payments in Northern Ireland. Last year, the Labour Government announced changes to the eligibility criteria for the winter fuel payment, restricting payment to pensioners on pension credit and other means-tested benefits. Since then, I have consistently made clear my total opposition to the changes. I raised my concerns directly with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and a number of Labour Ministers. Additionally, I, along with other Executive colleagues, wrote to the Prime Minister, urging him to reverse the changes that had been announced. I recognised the need to act quickly when that announcement was made and engaged with ministerial colleagues to determine how we might be able to help pensioner households in Northern Ireland. Members will be aware that I successfully bid for and received an additional allocation of £17 million, which I used to make a one-off £100 fuel support payment to pensioner households in Northern Ireland. Almost 250,000 payments were issued, as promised, to most Northern Ireland pensioners by the end of March 2025. While that one-off payment helped to support pensioners last winter, many of them remained anxious and worried about their energy bills this winter and beyond. I therefore welcome Treasury's announcement yesterday to reinstate the winter fuel payment to everyone over the state pension age who has an income of or below £35,000 a year. That increased threshold means that no lower- or middle-income pensioners will miss out.

My opposition to restricting eligibility for the winter fuel payment has been absolute, and I am glad that the Labour Government have now recognised that they made a mistake. I know that many of our pensioners are still anxious and worried about what yesterday's statement means for them. Therefore, I have acted quickly to provide clarity and certainty about what will happen to the winter fuel payment in Northern Ireland. After yesterday's announcement, I asked my officials to engage with DWP to understand the impact on Northern Ireland. I also met Torsten Bell MP, Parliamentary Secretary at the Treasury and Parliamentary Under-Secretary at DWP, along with the Finance Minister, John O'Dowd. Today, I engaged with Executive Ministers, and I am pleased to announce that pensioners in Northern Ireland will be able to receive a winter fuel payment in the same way as their neighbours in England and Wales. For clarity, the criteria are as follows: everyone over the state pension age in Northern Ireland will receive a winter fuel payment this winter; and pensioners with an income of or above £35,000 a year will have their payment automatically recovered by HMRC. That threshold is well above the income level of pensioners in poverty and is broadly in line with average earnings, thereby balancing support for lower-income pensioners with fairness to the taxpayer. There will be an option to opt out, however, and work is ongoing to finalise a solution, which will be announced at a later stage. My officials will take forward the necessary subordinate legislation for Northern Ireland. That is expected to be very straightforward and to be completed by the end of July. HMRC will bring forward the changes required for the recovery process in the Finance Bill. This is a reserved matter, so DOF and His Majesty's Treasury (HMT) will engage to agree the legislative process for Northern Ireland. Winter fuel payments are worth £200 per household or £300 per household where there is someone over the age of 80. For those with an income of £35,000 or above, the payment will be recovered from individuals via HMRC, and that will be based on their individual taxable incomes. For example, in a couple household where both pensioners are under 80 and not in receipt of pension credit, each will receive a payment of £100, ie £200 per household. If both have an income of £35,000 or above, HMRC will recover the £100 payment from each individual. If one has income below £35,000, they will keep the £100 payment, while the other £100 will be recovered. Payment will be recovered via PAYE for the vast majority. For the minority who file and pay their taxes through self-assessment, it will be recovered via their tax return. HMRC will work closely with representative bodies to ensure that the process is as simple as possible, with clear guidance for taxpayers. Importantly, the additional winter fuel payment costs are covered through annually managed expenditure (AME), so there are no additional costs to the Northern Ireland block grant. My officials continue to work with DWP and HMRC officials to determine the number of pensioners in Northern Ireland impacted on by the announcement, particularly the number who exceed the £35,000 threshold. At this early stage, it is extremely important to say that, already, a number of scams asking pensioners to provide their personal and bank account details have been circulating since yesterday's announcement. Let me be absolutely clear: pensioners do not need to do anything to receive the winter fuel payment this year. If anyone gets a suspicious email or text from an address ending gov.uk, the Department for Work and Pensions or the Department for Communities asking for bank details, they should report it to Action Fraud. They should not respond or click on any links. Neither DWP nor the Department for Communities will ask for bank details by text or email or send a link to click on within a text or an email. I have consistently said that the winter fuel payment changes announced by the Labour Government last year were a mistake. I have taken every opportunity since then to call on the Government to reverse their mistake, and I am pleased that they have listened. I acted quickly last year to provide the one-off £100 fuel support payment, and I have acted quickly again to provide clarity and certainty to every pensioner in Northern Ireland. Therefore, I commend this statement to the House.

I never said that millionaires or billionaires should benefit from it. I said that the most simple and straightforward way was to ensure that the universal nature of the payment was kept. That was not because I was trying to support those whom the Member describes. Rather, my focus was on those who were on the borderline: those who were not in receipt of pension credits or other means-tested benefits but were not able to qualify. There are many people in that category. There are many people across our constituencies who are in need and are not considered rich in any way. It is right that those people are now covered and that middle- and lower-income earners will get the support that they need. As the Member will have seen, that is having to be done in a convoluted way. The payment is having to be given out to everybody and then reclaimed from some. That is why I said what I said previously about wanting the process to be as simple and straightforward as possible. This is not the most simple or straightforward way, but it will help those who need it most. That is what I set out to do, and that is what I have done.

Yesterday, I asked the Department for Work and Pensions for that information. That is not information that we hold but information that HMRC holds. DWP has said that it will provide the information to us. The estimates are that 75% of people in England will be eligible. My understanding is that the percentage will probably be a little bit higher in Northern Ireland, because of the lower pensions and lower incomes of many of our pensioners compared with those of pensioners in the rest of the UK. That is an estimate and thus comes with a warning. I will, however, be more than happy to share the information with the Member and the House when it becomes available.

That is absolutely my ambition. There is a lot of confusion, and there has been a lack of clarity since the UK Government originally made their decision. That is why I acted so quickly to find out what legislative changes were going to be needed and what interaction with HMRC was required. That work has been done, and that is why I am able to confirm today that, all being well, and I think that all will be well, pensioners in Northern Ireland will get the payment at the same time as everybody else in England and Wales. That is to be welcomed, because it certainly was not inevitable. It is only by getting in early, getting the information and ensuring that we put the legislation in place that the payment can be delivered, and I am determined to do that. I am fed up with Northern Ireland often being left behind when decisions are made. Unfortunately, I found out about the announcement through the media rather than through the Government. I hope that that is not something that will continue into the future. It is, however, good news for pensioners in South Down and across Northern Ireland.

It is legislation that can be done by way of statutory rule (SR). It does not require Executive agreement, and it is not required to be voted on in the House. That is why it is so straightforward, and it is why I gave the assurances that I did to Diane Forsythe. I believe that the subordinate legislation will progress very quickly, because the changes are minor and do not require further approval.

I have engaged and will continue to engage on pension credit with the Government. We have seen quite a significant increase in the uptake of pension credit, which is good to see. However, it is another reason why it was not a very clever move by the Government from an economic and fiscal point of view, because they will not save as much as they originally thought that they would, especially now with the changes and the additional number of people who have come on to universal credit. I will always bid for additional resource to help those who are most in need. That is why, even though I am in a constrained budgetary environment, I am keeping the discretionary support payments in place. I understand the need that some people have for help in that way, but I recognise that there are many other people who do not fall into the pensioner category but are still in need. We will always seek to help those who are in difficulty. That is why, in addition to the anti-poverty strategy, I am bringing forward a fuel poverty strategy later this year to tackle the root causes of those problems. I would far rather give people money so that they can better insulate their home, for example, than just give them money to pay their bills. That is where we can use money smartly, which is what I am determined to do.

The Member is right to highlight that, and I hope that it came across strongly in my statement that we need to ensure that we deal with it. It is an issue of concern. Many people out there are vulnerable, especially to some of the online scams. We continue to work with various organisations, including financial institutions and others, to ensure that people are aware of them. Raising awareness is the greatest thing that we can do. That has been part of my media communication plan for this measure. I encourage the Member and, indeed, all Members to make sure that they use their influence and reach to warn people about those scams. It is disgraceful that, less than 24 hours after the announcement, people are already trying to take advantage of others. That is wrong. We should do everything that we can to make people aware of the rules. They do not need to fill out an application form or submit any information, including bank account details. I hope that that comes across very strongly today.

No, it will not. It is very important to note that that will not count in any way. People can rest assured that that is not something that they need to be aware of or pay back. Indeed, in most cases, it will automatically go into people's bank accounts. HMRC will do its work through self-assessment or PAYE to claim back the money from those who are not entitled to it. That is not something that people in Northern Ireland need to worry about.

We do not have the exact details, but it will be at the same time as it normally occurred in the past. I think that it was previously paid out in October or November. I hope that it will happen at the same time not just in England and Wales but in Northern Ireland. We will have confirmation of that closer to the time and will be able to provide those details at that stage.

I also thank the many organisations across Northern Ireland and, indeed, the UK that made the case to the UK Government. It is clear that they came under political pressure. That political pressure was put on Labour MPs and others, and they have recognised the error of their ways. In large part, that was down to the groups that ensured that that pressure was put on, the facts were presented and people were aware that it was not about rich pensioners getting money; often, it was about people in genuine need. I am pleased that that happened. I turn to the other issue that the Member raised. We do not have any detail on the opt-out, other than to say that the Government are looking at that option. I do not know how many people will avail themselves of that or how or when it will be made available. Some people might take up that option if they are clear that they will be above the threshold every year and do not want to have deal with it through self-assessment or through PAYE. I am certainly happy to share that information with the House if and when the Government provide clarity on that issue. All that we have been told is that there will be an option to opt out, but we do not know any more details about it right now.

As I have said before, it will be ready by the end of the year. I look forward to bringing it forward. The Member is absolutely right: this is a key issue. Others may have met representatives from Asthma and Lung UK today. We see the ill effects that poor housing and the inability that some people have to heat their home has not only on their comfort and well-being but on their health, including their long-term health. That is why I am absolutely determined to do everything in our power to address the issue. I talk about this all the time, but, again, that is why it is so important that the Housing Executive gets into the position of being able to borrow against its assets once more so that it can not only build better homes but help with social homes that are under its care and need extra work. I am absolutely committed to helping our pensioners, yes, but also everybody in Northern Ireland to ensure that they live in warm, safe homes.

We have been told that there will not be an administrative cost to the Northern Ireland block grant, because it will be done by HMRC through Westminster. It is not a Northern Ireland solution or one that is unique to us; it is what is being done in England and Wales. We would not have been able to do it ourselves in Northern Ireland, because, although we will have some legislative work to do around the winter fuel payments that will come to people in Northern Ireland, we do not have the data or ability to recover payments through the self-assessment process or PAYE as HMRC and the Treasury do. It is convoluted. It is a little complicated. It will take additional administrative work, but I have been told that that will not be at the expense of the Northern Ireland block grant.

I refer the Member to answers that I have given to other questions already. In case he had fallen asleep, I am happy to confirm to him that it will be done as soon as possible. I still believe that it will be done when they are normally done. That will be done because of the quick action that I have taken to ensure that we have the legislation in place to do what we need to do at our end so that DWP and the Treasury can do what they need to do at their end so that pensioners here are treated on the same basis as those in England and Wales.

2,838 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:45 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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