Since 1997, all British pensioners have been able to claim a tax-free payment to help with their heating costs. The winter fuel payment, introduced by the last Labour government, previously doled out as much as £300 a year to all retirees.

The money is just for the holiday kitty,” says Jon Harvey of the £300 he was given every winter to help with heating bills. “I could also use it to go out for a nice meal.” The 80-year-old, like all pensioners in England and Wales,