Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 (SI, 2024, No. 869): motion to annul

Parliament voted on 10 September 2024 on a motion to annul (cancel) the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024, which had removed winter fuel payments from the majority of pensioners by restricting eligibility to those receiving Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits. The motion was defeated by 348 votes to 228, meaning the government's regulations remained in force and the cuts to winter fuel payments stood.

The vote has significant practical consequences for millions of older people in England and Wales. Before the regulations came into effect, winter fuel payments of between 200 and 300 pounds were paid universally to people aged 66 and over, regardless of income. The new regulations tied eligibility to Pension Credit, a benefit claimed by roughly 1.4 million pensioners, meaning the majority of the approximately 11 million pensioners previously eligible lost access to the payment. Critics argued this would leave many pensioners, particularly those just above the Pension Credit threshold, struggling to heat their homes in winter.

The vote divided almost entirely along government versus opposition lines. Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly to maintain the cuts, with only five Labour members voting against their own government. Every Conservative, Liberal Democrat, SNP, Reform UK, Green, Plaid Cymru, and DUP member who voted did so in favour of annulment. The vote took place alongside a related opposition day debate on the same subject, in which a separate motion was also defeated 335 to 214. The controversy over winter fuel payments became one of the first major domestic political flashpoints for the new Labour government, elected in July 2024, with sustained media coverage and cross-party criticism focused on the speed and scale of the decision.