Sunderland councillors clash during winter fuel allowance debate but back plans to support local pensioners

The controversial move by the new Labour government to restrict the winter fuel payment to older people who receive pension credit, is expected to see the number of people who receive the allowance plummet.

This move has sparked concerns from politicians, charities and campaigners about the financial impact on older people over the winter, with a recent parliamentary vote on the changes seeing several Labour MPs abstain.

There are also growing calls for the winter fuel allowance changes to be reversed, including from trade unions who won a non-binding vote at the latest Labour Party conference this week.

A debate on the winter fuel allowance was launched by the Sunderland Conservatives at a full meeting of Sunderland City Council earlier this month (September 18, 2024) at City Hall.

Councillors heard that 42,853 elderly people on Wearside would “no longer receive these payments” under the national change.

The Conservative motion asked Labour city leaders to produce an impact assessment on how the national decision would impact Sunderland, along with efforts to promote pension credit and the council’s chief executive writing to government and asking the chancellor to reverse the winter fuel allowance decision.

“Ideology has been put before pensioners”

Councillor Antony Mullen, leader of the Sunderland Conservatives, said the national Labour Party, when in opposition, published a national research paper in which it claimed that “4,000 pensioners would die if winter fuel allowance was taken away from them”.

He added that the financial black hole cited by Labour to justify the winter fuel allowance changes was “laughable” when compared to the scale of what Labour has already committed to spending.

“The cut to winter fuel allowance is projected to save around £1.2 billion but energy secretary Ed Milliband has been granted an £11.6 billion international climate justice budget to fly around the world telling other countries how to behave,” he said.

“Not only that but half of what the winter fuel allowance cut has saved has already been allocated as spending, again by Ed Milliband, to nationalise national grid system operations unit currently operating in the private sector and working perfectly well.

“Ideology has been put before pensioners”.

Cllr Mullen also noted the “hypocrisy” of the Prime Minister accepting free gifts while pensioners were set to be impacted, and said Sunderland’s Labour leaders had “shown no sign of doing anything to help” with winter fuel allowance changes, apart from “a few Facebook posts”.

“Taking the tough decisions now to protect the public finances”

The Conservative motion was amended by councillor Michael Mordey, Labour leader of Sunderland City Council.

The amendment removed reference to the council’s chief executive writing to government and inserted a reference to the “£22 billion hidden black hole in the country’s finance left by the previous Conservative government”, which the national Labour Party has used to justify the previous winter fuel allowance decision.

Cllr Mordey said the previous Conservative government “wrecked our economy”, “covered up” the state of public finances and called a General Election early to “duck the difficult decisions”.

“We know these are tough choices, they’re not the choices we wanted or expected to make, but they were the right choices in the circumstances,” he said.

“Because by taking the tough decisions now to protect the public finances we can begin the process of change.

“The new government will protect the triple lock on pensions which saw the new state pension rise by £900 in April this year and a further increase of the state pension of £460 will be announced in the budget in October.

“There were no easy options but not acting was not an option. If no action had been taken to repair the Conservatives black hole then it would have put financial stability at risk, including the risk of higher debt, higher mortgages and higher costs for the future”.

The council leader added the council was “determined to do everything possible to protect the poorest pensioners” and that city leaders would explore using some existing household support funding to introduce a “Sunderland fuel allowance” aimed at those people just above the pension credit threshold.

Cllr Mordey said he hoped the “decision to means test the winter fuel allowance at pension credit” is something the chancellor would “look at again” in next month’s budget statement, and said he would make representations at the Labour Party conference on the issue.

“We have set out a programme in the amendment and a number of the bullet points are what we’re going to do here in Sunderland to ensure we can protect the most vulnerable in our city,” he added.

“We have a brilliant partnership with the VCS network who can hopefully highlight these and promote the availability and uptake of pension credit. I hope everybody checks their eligibility and talks to their families and asks are you eligible and encourage them to apply.

“If this means that there’s an uptake in pension credit, which the previous government deliberately suppressed, and people get the benefits that they’re entitled to that would be a good thing”.

The motion, amended by Labour, included reference to an impact assessment and promotional work around pension credit, as well as “exploring the potential for a discretionary fund” to support residents that “fall just outside of the revised criteria thresholds”.

Council leader Cllr Mordey said it was “necessary” to amend the Conservative motion to “outline exactly what we are doing”.

“Political choice to implement austerity”

During the debate, several opposition councillors criticised the national Labour government for their decision on winter fuel allowance, and raised concerns about how pensioners would be impacted.

Councillor Paul Edgeworth, leader of the Wearside Liberal Democrats, said the Labour amendment “effectively negated” the Conservative motion.

The Lib Dem opposition leader added the amendment “did not acknowledge Labour’s political choice to implement austerity” and that “fairer” alternatives could have been explored, instead of changes to winter fuel allowance.

“Whether through cock up or conspiracy, this Labour government is going to be remembered for penalising older people in communities up and down the country as one of the first things they have chosen to do after taking office,” he added.

“This was done without public consultation or an impact assessment and without a thought for those struggling pensioners just above the threshold of pension credit at a time when fuel bills are set to rise”.

Sunderland’s Conservative leader Cllr Antony Mullen also described the financial black hole cited by Labour as “fictional” and criticised it being used as a justification for changes to winter fuel allowance.

Cllr Mullen added: “There is a reason that the previous government didn’t disclose the £22 billion black hole, that’s because it doesn’t exist.

“If you can give huge pay increases to train drivers, if you can give Ed Milliband an £11 billion budget, then that is your black hole filled”.

The Conservative motion, amended by Labour, was eventually backed by councillors with 54 votes in favour and no votes against.

A separate Liberal Democrat motion on the winter fuel allowance and the “introduction of a new threshold to determine eligibility for winter fuel payments” was then launched at full council, and an amendment was put forward by Labour again.

Lib Dem councillor Niall Hodson said the Labour amendment had the effect of “entirely negating” the Liberal Democrat motion and called for the Labour amendment to be withdrawn.

Questions were raised by councillors about the Labour amendment, and there was a dispute about the level of similarity between the Conservative and Lib Dem motions discussed at City Hall.

The Mayor of Sunderland eventually ruled that the Liberal Democrat motion would be “removed”, which sparked outrage from some Liberal Democrat councillors.

Several Lib Dems accused Mayor Cllr Allison Chisnall of making a “political decision” and indicated a formal complaint would be made after the council meeting.