The money is just for the holiday kitty,” says Jon Harvey of the £300 he was given every winter to help with heating bills. “I could also use it to go out for a nice meal.” The 80-year-old, like all pensioners in England and Wales,

The DWP has confirmed that every person over State Pension age will receive a letter from the department which will explain the new eligibility rule changes to Winter Fuel Payment

The final date for making a backdated claim for pension credit, in order to receive the winter fuel payment, is 21 December. The Department for Work and Pensions says that pension credit is worth on average more than £3,900 a year in itself. The amount received depends on a variety of factors.

The governments plan to restrict pensioners winter fuel payment to households getting pension credit has been easily if grudgingly passed by parliament. This was despite a strong case for delaying the move to

State pensioners have been urged to spend 99p on an item which could save them money on their energy bills in the wake of losing their £300 Winter Fuel Payments. With energy bills set to rise by 10 percent up to £1,

Sir Keir Starmer, the new Labour Party government leader, has refused to rule out scrapping free bus passes for pensioners.

Mel Stride, the recently ousted Tory leadership contender, said the figures illustrated the "distress" the new Labour government was causing Britain's pensioners.