Asked by: Katie Lam (Conservative - Weald of Kent)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) households that entered fuel poverty and (b) excess winter deaths in 2024/25 following changes to the eligibility criteria for the Winter Fuel Payment.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In the latest annual fuel poverty statistics published in March 2025, it is estimated that changes to Winter Fuel Payment eligibility did not affect the rate of fuel poverty in England in 2024, as measured by the Low Income Low Energy Efficiency (LILEE) metric- Annual fuel poverty statistics report: 2025 - GOV.UK. The next annual fuel poverty stats will be published in Spring 2026.
A very wide range of factors impact changes in mortality. Details of excess winter deaths in England and Wales can be found at: Excess mortality in England - GOV.UK