Kate Forbes says Labour have “driven a coach and horses through devolution”, after leaving Scottish ministers with “no practical choice” on keeping universal winter fuel payments. Earlier in the summer Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced winter fuel payments in England and Wales would no longer be universal, as part of a package of measures to plug a £22 billion black hole in public finances. However, winter fuel payments in Scotland are being devolved to Holyrood this year.
Following Ms Reeves’s statement, Scottish Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee warned £100 million would be needed to keep the payments universal north of the border. Now the government has confirmed it has been left with no choice but to mirror the cuts to universal winter fuel payments in Scotland. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said this is because the funding coming to the Scottish Government for these payments has now been cut by up to £160m, meaning they will now be restricted to pensioners receiving eligible benefits only .
Deputy First Minister Ms Forbes said it is “disrespectful to everybody involved in shaping the new Scottish policy” by cutting the budget by almost 90 per cent only weeks before the policy is devolved. She said: “Not only does it drive a coach and horses through the devolution settlement, it ignores the disproportionate importance of this payment to households in Scotland, who face harsher winters and higher fuel costs. “We and many others cal.