Department for Work and Pensions written question – answered at on 11 November 2025.
Lee Anderson
Reform UK, Ashfield
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will reinstate the winter fuel payment in full.
Torsten Bell
The Parliamentary Secretary, HM Treasury, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
The Government has increased the level at which Winter Fuel Payments are means-tested in England and Wales from winter 2025/26 so that the vast Majority of pensioners – around 9 million individuals – will benefit from them.
Yes2 people think so
No2 people think not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The term "majority" is used in two ways in Parliament. Firstly a Government cannot operate effectively unless it can command a majority in the House of Commons - a majority means winning more than 50% of the votes in a division. Should a Government fail to hold the confidence of the House, it has to hold a General Election. Secondly the term can also be used in an election, where it refers to the margin which the candidate with the most votes has over the candidate coming second. To win a seat a candidate need only have a majority of 1.
