Winter Fuel Payment: Lancashire
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential impact of means testing the Winter Fuel Payment on NHS services in (a) Fylde and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Torsten Bell
The Government has had to make difficult decisions in view of the state of the public finances that it inherited, including the decision to target the Winter Fuel Payment on those on the lowest incomes. The decisions mean we are able to provide additional investment in the NHS. This is to the benefit of everyone, including pensioners, who rely on its services. The Government is working to reform the NHS in England through the 10-year health plan, to build a health service that is fit for the future. As a first step, at the Autumn Budget, the Government announced a £22.6bn increase in day-to-day health spending in England and a £3.1bn increase in the capital budget over this year and next.
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