Unite union may bring legal action over winter fuel payments

Unite union leafletted at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool in September

The Unite union has called on the government to reverse its decision to cut the winter fuel payment for millions of pensioners or has warned it may face judicial review.

The policy, announced in July and since confirmed in the Budget, has attracted criticism, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves saying it was intended to help plug a £22bn hole in public finances.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said "it is not too late for Labour to register the hurt that this cruel policy has caused, step back from picking the pockets of pensioners and do the right thing".

The government said in response that it was "committed to supporting pensioners".

An estimated 10 million pensioners will lose the winter fuel payment, worth between £100 and £300. The benefit will still be paid to those who receive pension credit or other means-tested help.

A pre-action letter from Unite's legal representation, sent to the government on 29 October, argued that the government failed to undertake a full assessment of how the decision would impact people.

The government revealed in September that there had been no wide-ranging assessment, but a more limited "equalities analysis" was released.

The letter named Works and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall as a proposed defendant. The government technically has 14 days - until 12 November - to respond, although the union requested a response by 7 November.

The letter also said the government had a legal duty to refer the cut to the Social Security Advisory Committee and should have gathered more evidence about the impact, particularly on vulnerable and disabled people, by law.

The matter was "urgent" due to increasingly cold weather and the significant impact on people "who are at risk of disconnection, and who are increasingly having to forgo adequate heating and cut other essential spending", the letter read.

“People do not understand, I do not understand how a Labour government has taken away the fuel allowance of millions of pensioners just as winter approaches," Graham added.

The government said on Sunday millions of pensioners would "see state pensions rise by up to £1,700 this parliament" through its commitment to the triple lock.

It said more than a million pensioners would still receive the payment, with a 152% increase in pension credit claims, while some would benefit from the £150 warm home discount.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer previously defended the "tough" decision to cut the universal benefit.

Sir Keir said the cut was necessary because of the state of the country’s finances, accusing previous governments of avoiding confronting issues like the cost of winter fuel payments.

In Scotland, a couple has also been given permission to proceed with their own legal bid against both the UK and Scottish governments over scrapping the benefit.