Citizens Advice responds to the Chancellor's announcement on Winter Fuel Payments

Gillian Cooper, Director of Energy Policy at Citizens Advice, said: 

“Millions of households on low incomes face living in a cold home this winter, with many forced to make the impossible choice between heating or eating. 

“The current Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) is not well targeted and is too low to make a real difference to pensioners who need help most. As we go into this winter, we need to see targeted support with energy bills for all those in desperate need, including low-income families and pensioners. 

“Changes to eligibility to WFP will create some uncertainty. We will need to see better support for people to understand how this change impacts them, and how they can continue accessing the help they need.”

Notes to editors:

  1. Citizens Advice is made up of the national charity Citizens Advice; the network of independent local Citizens Advice charities across England and Wales; the Citizens Advice consumer service; and the Witness Service.

  2. Our network of charities offers impartial advice online, over the phone, and in person, for free. 

  3. Citizens Advice helped 2.66 million people face to face, over the phone, by email and webchat in 2022-23. And we had 60.6 million visits to our website. For full service statistics see our monthly publication Advice trends.

  4. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 16,000 trained volunteers, working at over 1,600 service outlets across England and Wales.

  5. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 for Welsh language speakers.