Forbes slams 'disrespectful' Labour as Scottish Government cuts winter fuel payment

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has accused the UK Government of “driving a coach and horses through the devolution settlement” after the Holyrood administration said it was being forced to follow Labour’s lead on cutting pensioners’ winter fuel payments.

When she set out her spending plans at the end of July, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that as of this autumn the Winter Fuel Allowance would be stopped for pensioners who do not receive pension credit or any other means-tested benefit.

Around 10 million pensioners in England and Wales are set to be affected, with Reeves saying the move will save the Treasury around £1.5bn a year.

Although the Winter Fuel Payment is currently managed at a UK level, it is due to be devolved as the Scottish Government’s Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in September.

The Scottish Government immediately criticised Reeves’s plan, with First Minister John Swinney saying it had been introduced without consultation and would “mean tough decisions ahead for Scotland”.

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has today announced that the cut to the allowance has resulted in a £160m reduction in the Scottish Government’s block grant, meaning it has been “left with no choice but to follow the UK Government and restrict payments to older people who receive relevant eligible benefits”.

“This is a necessary decision when faced with such a deep cut to our funding and in the most challenging financial circumstances since devolution,” she said.

Forbes accused the UK Government of “disrespecting” the Scottish Government by “devolving a policy weeks after cutting its budget by almost 90 per cent”.

“Not only does it drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement, it ignores the disproportionate importance of this payment to households in Scotland, who face harsher winters and higher fuel costs,” she said.

“We and many others called for the UK Government to rethink this approach – or at least allow more time for a proper consultation – but they have not changed course.”

She added that as the government is “already facing the most challenging financial circumstances in the history of the Scottish Parliament” it has had “no choice but to bear the brunt of Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment”.

In response, a UK Government spokesperson said Reeves had been forced to take “difficult decisions” because of the “£22bn black hole in the public finances the UK Government inherited from the previous administration”.

“We are working closely with the Scottish Government to make this as smooth a transition as possible, and more importantly ensure eligible pensioners continue to receive support,” they said.

“The UK Government has protected the poorest pensioners by ensuring people on pension credit or certain other income-related benefits will continue to receive the payment.”

It comes as the Scottish Government has announced that the gap between the amount of revenue raised in Scotland and the amount spent on public services has risen, with the deficit sitting at £22.7bn in 2023-24, up from £19.1bn the year before and equating to 10.4 per cent of GDP.

Scottish Finance Secretary Shona Robison said the deficit was a “reflection of UK Government choices”, while the UK Government’s Scotland Office said the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland statistics proved the “collective economic strength” of the UK.