Around 780,000 pensioners in England and Wales are set to lose their winter fuel allowance because they are not expected to apply for benefits they are entitled to, according to the government’s own analysis.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estimates were released under freedom of information laws on Friday.
The “equalities analyses” predicted many people entitled to pension credit – and therefore eligible for fuel payments under the new rules – will not submit a claim, and therefore lose the subsidy altogether.
The disclosure comes after the government told opposition parties it had not carried out a full assessment of the policy’s impact, amid calls for analysis to be released.
