Sarah Olney

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Madam Deputy Speaker. Liberal Democrats welcome the opportunity for this debate. We will continue to call on the Government to change course on their planned cut to winter fuel payments. We know the Government have inherited a mess, and we know that at the core of that mess is a legacy of reckless economic mismanagement by the previous Conservative Government. However, that cannot be allowed to serve as a cover for measures that cause suffering for the most vulnerable in our society. Earlier this afternoon, Liberal Democrats supported the prayer motion to annul the social fund winter fuel payment regulation. Stripping support from many of the poorest pensioners, just when energy bills are set to rise again this winter, is the wrong thing to do, and we have tabled our own early-day motion to reject these plans. It should be noted that the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee in the other place has said that it is “unconvinced by the reasons given for the urgency attached to laying these Regulations and particularly concerned that this precludes appropriate scrutiny”. We are supportive of this motion and particularly of the point that there should have been greater scrutiny of the Government’s decision to cut winter fuel payments. It is well established that there are strong links between living in a cold home and an increase in the risk of serious illness for vulnerable people and those with disabilities.