Call for extension to winter fuel payment deadline

The Liberal Democrats have called for an extension to Saturday's deadline to access winter fuel payments, warning tens of thousands of older people could miss out.

There has been a surge in applications for Pension Credit since Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in July that the payment for this year would be mainly limited to those receiving the benefit.

But as of mid-November, thousands more pensioners believed to be eligible had not yet applied.

At this point there was also a backlog of 91,000 unprocessed claims, with around 9,000 being processed each week, according to the latest official figures.

The government says it has been working to boost take-up and eligible claims can be backdated.

People have until the end of Saturday to apply for pension credit to get this year's winter fuel payment.

The deadline for online applications is 23:59 GMT, while the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said its claim phone lines would also be open from 08:00 to 15:15.

The Lib Dems are calling for this deadline to be extended to 28 February and for applications to be processed quicker, to ensure vulnerable pensioners do not miss out.

Previously all pensioners got the payment to help with energy costs, worth between £200 and £300.

But in July the government said future payments in England and Wales would only go to those on low incomes who received specified benefits such as pension credit, meaning more than 10 million people will no longer be eligible.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has defended the move, saying tough decisions were necessary because of the state of the public finances.

But it has been criticised by several charities, unions and opposition parties, with some Labour MPs also raising concerns about the impact on low-income pensioners.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Older people across the country are having to make heart-breaking decisions over whether to heat their homes or eat over the Christmas period.

"Ministers need to do everything they can to limit the damage of their wrong-headed decision to slash Winter Fuel Payments for millions of pensioners."