UK to axe expats’ winter fuel money
The British chancellor has announced he will go ahead with a ‘temperature test’ that will bar people in France
EXPATS living in “hot” countries like France will lose the UK’s Winter Fuel Payment from the winter of 2015, says the British chancellor.
George Osborne has announced a “temperature test” for the payment, which it is said, will be based on whether or not a given country has, on average, warmer winters than those in the south-west of the UK.
British national media state that analyses of European winters done for the treasury mean that expats in seven EU countries will lose out - Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain.
In a statement to the Commons, Osborne said: “We will link the winter fuel payment to a temperature test. People in hot countries will no longer get it; it is after all a payment for winter fuel.”
The decision comes after the UK was recently forced by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to ditch rules restricting the payment to those who reached the age of 60 before leaving the UK. Under the latest rules you only need to demonstrate a “genuine and sufficient link” with the country, such as having lived or worked there most of your working life.
Osborne said: “Paying out even more money to people from all nationalities who may have worked in this country years ago but no longer live here is not a fair use of the nation’s cash.”
The latest available statistics show that Britain paid about £3.1million in Winter Fuel Payment to expats in France in the winter of 2011-12, the most after Spain (almost £6million), but the payments are in total estimated to cost the government some £2billion.
Cutting the payments, which are £100-£300 at present, based on the temperature test will save about £30million, the government believes. This is estimated to offset the extra it is having to pay due to the decision of the ECJ.
Connexion is seeking confirmation of the list of seven countries and is asking why, for example, Italy does not appear and how using an average can be justified when temperatures around France vary so much.
Photo: M.Holland/Wikimedia Commons
