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Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
The government did not carry out an assessment of predicted death and illness rates among pensioners by axing the universal winter fuel payment, the prime minister has admitted.
His statement flies in the face of official claims earlier this week that one had been conducted.
Answering a parliamentary question, energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said her department had assessed the effect the change would have on pensioners living in fuel poverty.
On Tuesday, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero refused to say when the document would be published, promising only that it would be “in due course”.
The prime minister has come under intense pressure this week to publish an assessment of the effects of the controversial policy, which involves means-testing winter fuel payments for the first time.
Around 10 million people – all but the poorest pensioners – will have the payment, worth about £300, taken away, and there are fears that low-income households who are just above the threshold will suffer.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessor, Rishi Sunak, accused him of hiding the effects of taking away the benefit.
Sir Keir blamed the £22bn black hole in the public finances left by Mr Sunak’s government for having to cut the payment.
Downing Street had refused to comment for days on whether an assessment had been carried out.
But when Sir Keir was asked on Thursday about showing the public the impact assessment, he said: “The impact will be mitigated by, obviously, pension credit, by the housing benefit…”
When he was asked again, he said: “By ensuring… there isn’t a report on my desk which somehow we’re not showing… that I’m not showing … as simple as that.”
Appearing to confirm reports there is no impact assessment, he added: “There isn’t a report on my desk.”
He insisted it was “not actually true” he needed an impact assessment, saying: “Because you’ve done it in a different way.
“I know you think there’s a report on my desk but there isn’t one.”
He declined to answer a question on whether he was comfortable not having one.
Keir Starmer’s deputy spokesperson said the only assessment made before the policy announcement was a standard legal one of potential equalities impacts, The Guardian reported.
Asked to confirm that there had been no wider assessment to try to establish how many affected pensioners could thus be at risk, she said: “That’s right.”
The paper said the spokesperson said the focus was instead on encouraging eligible pensioners to seek help.
