Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an estimate of the number of households that will be affected by the proposed change to the eligibility criteria for Winter Fuel Payments in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

The Pension Credit data that is used is based on the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary constituencies, not 2024, in order to be comparable with the Winter Fuel Payments statistics. The Pension Credit & Winter Fuel Payments statistics aren’t available for Lincolnshire. Therefore, to obtain the below figures, the Winter Fuel Payment & Pension Credit figures for the following parliamentary constituencies have been combined: Boston and Skegness, Gainsborough, Grantham and Stamford, Lincoln, Louth and Horncastle, Rutland and Melton, Sleaford and North Hykeham, and South Holland and The Deepings.

Around an estimated 15,000 and 120,000 households in South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and Lincolnshire, respectively, will be affected by the proposed change to the eligibility criteria for Winter Fuel Payments. These are based on the 22/23 Winter Fuel Payment statistics and Feb-24 Pension Credit statistics (sources shown below).

This estimation is calculated by subtracting the number of Pension Credit recipients for South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and Lincolnshire from the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients for South Holland and the Deepings constituency, and Lincolnshire. This is essentially the number of Winter Fuel Payment recipients pre-policy change not claiming Pension Credit, as an estimate of those who will no longer receive Winter Fuel Payment.

Also, the above figures do not take into account any potential increase in Pension Credit take-up we might see as a result of the Government’s Pension Credit Awareness Campaign. We do not have data on those additional Pension Credit claims by Parliamentary constituencies or local authorities.

Furthermore, Pension Credit claimants are the majority of those that will be eligible for Winter Fuel Payments, not all. There are other pensioners who are eligible for Winter Fuel Payments (as they claim other means tested benefits) but they are not considered in these figures as it is not possible to do so.

Source:

The Winter Fuel Payments statistics are published here:

Winter Fuel Payment statistics for winter 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Pension Credit data is published here: Pension Credit – Data from May 2018