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UK voter ID legal case
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 is a statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The regulations reformed the Winter Fuel Payment, making eligibility means-tested rather than universal.
| Statutory Instrument | |
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| Citation | SI 2024/869 |
|---|---|
| Introduced by | Emma Reynolds, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pensions |
| Territorial extent | England and Wales, Scotland (revocations only) |
| Dates | |
| Made | 22 August 2024[1] |
| Laid before Parliament | 22 August 2024 |
| Commencement | 16 September 2024[1] |
| Other legislation | |
| Amends | Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2000 |
| Made under | Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 Social Security Administration Act 1992 Social Security Act 1998 Scotland Act 2016 |
Status: Not yet in force | |
| Text of the The Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
Background
The Winter Fuel Payment was created in 1997 by the Blair government to help pensioners with the costs of heating their homes in the winter.[2] The payments are tax-free and worth between £100 and £300, with the higher amount available to pensioners who receive other benefits.[2] In 2022/23, 11.4 million pensioners received the payment.[2] Due to the cost-of-living crisis, extra payments were paid to the poorest pensioner households in 2022/23 and 2023/24.[2]
Pensioners living in the European Economic Area or Switzerland with a "genuine and sufficient link to the UK" can also be eligible for the payment.[3] In 2018/19, over 40,000 recipients lived abroad.[4]: 5
The Winter Fuel Payment is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and Scotland.[5]: 15 The scheme in Northern Ireland is overseen by the Department for Communities and is administered in the same way as in England and Wales.[5]: 15–16 In Scotland, certain social security benefits are devolved under the Scotland Act 2016.[5]: 16 The Scottish government had planned to replace the UK government's Winter Fuel Payment in 2024/25 with a new benefit called the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP).[5]: 16 Since the UK government announced its plans, the Scottish government announced in August 2024 it had been "left with no choice" but to postpone the PAWHP due to its funding being cut by up to £160 million.[6][7]
