Rachel Reeves announces Winter Fuel Payment will no longer be paid to all older Scots as Labour tries to plug £22 billion blackhole

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Rachel Reeves has announced the Winter Fuel Payment will no longer be paid to all older Scots as she tries to plug a £22 billion blackhole in the public finances caused by the Tories.The UK-wide benefit will instead become means-tested following a review implemented after Labour took charge at Westminster earlier this month.The new Chancellor today accused the Conservatives of covering up the true extent of spending commitments announced before Rishi Sunak was booted out of power at the general election on July 4.In a statement to MPs, Reeves set out “immediate action” to address the issues she said had been uncovered by the audit ordered by Labour when it took office.And she she stood by a pledge not to raise taxes for working people - National Insurance, basic higher or additional rates of income tax and VAT - but said there would be challenging trade-offs before she announced the new Government's first UK Budget on October 30.In a statement, the Chancellor said:The Winter Fuel Payment was previously offered to all adults in the UK born before September 25, 1957, offering them between £250 and £600 to help pay heating bills.

The Scottish Government already offers a separate means-tested benefit, the Winter Heating Payment, which is unaffected by Reeves' statement. To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here