TENS of thousands of people across Warrington will lose out on their winter fuel payment as new rules are put in place.

The winter fuel payment is a state benefit that is paid once a year to help cover heating costs through the colder months.

This payment was previously given to people over pension credit age and was between £100 to £300.

For the 2022-2023 payment, around 37,919 people in Warrington were eligible for this benefit.

However, last month it was announced that this payment would be scrapped for around 10 million people across the UK in order to help fill a £22 billion ‘black hole’ in public finances.

This means that the winter fuel payment will now be limited to people born before September 23 1958 and receiving one of the following benefits:

  • Pension Credit

  • Universal Credit

  • Income-related Employment and Support Allowance

  • Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

  • Income Support

A staggering 34,137 people across Warrington will now not be eligible to receive winter fuel payments this year.

This is a huge 90 per cent decrease from last year, as only 3,782 people will be able to receive the benefit.

Those still eligible should receive a letter in the autumn informing them how much they will get, and most payments are made automatically in November or December.