Starmer accused by Tories of "hiding" assessment of impact of winter fuel payments cut on pensioners Here is the PA Media story from PMQs. Keir Starmer has been accused of “hiding” the impact of the government’s winter fuel payment cuts amid fears the policy will cause an increase in pensioner deaths. Former prime minister Rishi Sunak highlighted Labour research from 2017 which claimed Conservative plans to scrap the winter fuel payment for better-off pensioners could lead to almost 4,000 additional deaths over winter. Outgoing Tory leader Sunak asked whether the government believed the numbers are predicted to be higher or lower this year, with Starmer focusing on increases to the state pension when answering in the Commons. Starmer also used PMQs to urge Sunak to “apologise for the £22bn black hole” that Labour argues was left by the previous Tory administration. People in England and Wales not in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits will lose out under the government’s changes to winter fuel payments. It is expected to reduce the number of pensioners in receipt of the up to £300 payment by 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million, saving more than £1bn this year. Speaking at PMQs, Sunak urged Starmer to publish the impact assessment for means-tested winter fuel payments. He said: “We know why he’s hiding the impact assessment. The Labour Party’s own previous analysis claimed that this policy could cause 3,850 deaths. So, are the numbers in his impact assessment higher or lower than that?” Starmer replied: “We’re taking this decision to stabilise the economy. That means we can commit to the triple lock. By committing to the triple lock we can make sure that payments of state pension are higher and therefore there’s more money in the pockets of pensioners, not withstanding the tough action we need to take. “But he goes around pretending that everything is fine. That’s the argument he tried in the election and that’s why he’s sitting there and we are sitting here.” Sunak countered: “Today pensioners watching will have seen that the prime minister has repeatedly refused to admit or publish the consequences of his decision and we will continue holding him to account for that.” Earlier in the pair’s exchanges, Starmer outlined his justification for the decision. He said: “The fact of the matter is this: they left a £22bn black hole and they hid it from the OBR [Office for Budget Responsibility]. Richard Hughes is absolutely clear, the largest year-ahead overspend outside the pandemic.” The prime minister said increases in pensions “will outstrip any loss of payment” as a result of the triple lock, which guarantees the state pension will rise by inflation, average wage growth or 2.5%. The full state pension is set to rise by £460 from next April, according to official wage figures released this week. Afternoon summary Keir Starmer was accused by Tory leader Rishi Sunak of “hiding” the impact of the government’s winter fuel payment cuts at PMQs, amid fears the policy will cause an increase in pensioner deaths. (See 1.30pm). The government has published its renters’ rights bill. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, the housing charity, said: The renters’ rights bill is a watershed moment for England’s 11 million renters. By extending notice periods and ridding the country of the gross injustice of section 21 evictions, renters will no longer live in fear of being booted out of their homes for no reason, with too little notice. This bill will do far more to protect tenants than previous failed attempts, but renters shouldn’t be forced out by colossal rent hikes once the government pulls the plug on section 21. More than 60,000 renters were walloped with extortionate rent hikes that cost them the roof over their head in the past year alone. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published a detailed guide to the bill here. October’s budget will require “difficult decisions on tax, spending and welfare”, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has warned. The anticipated post-election bounceback in the UK economy failed to materialise as activity flatlined in July for a second month, according to the latest official data. The British steel industry has suffered a blow after confirmation that 2,500 jobs will go at the Port Talbot steelworks despite a £500m taxpayer-backed deal for the south Wales plant. The UK government has ordered an independent public inquiry into the 1989 murder of the Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane, one of the most controversial killings of the Troubles. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, has announced over £600m worth of support for Ukraine, PA Media reports. PA says: The package includes a reaffirmation of Rishi Sunak’s pledge of £242m, as well as $484m worth of loan guarantees for World Bank lending before the end of the year. The former will include aid to meet immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs, while the latter will help bolster Ukraine’s economic stability. Lammy, who is currently in Kyiv with his US counterpart Antony Blinken, said this will “provide vital support to Ukrainians as they continue to endure relentless Russian attacks”. Owners of up to 7,000 buildings have yet to apply for funds to remove unsafe cladding, MPs told Owners of up to 7,000 buildings have yet to apply for funds to address fire risks caused by unsafe cladding, MPs were told this afternoon. Rushanara Ali, the housing minister, said remediation work has started at 50% of the 4,630 residential buildings above 11 metres which are being monitored by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. But, as PA Media reports, Ali said government estimates suggest as many as 7,000 buildings have yet to apply for the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS). Speaking in a Commons debate on building safety, taking place a week after the publication of the final report from the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire, Ali said the government intends to consider the report’s recommendations and respond “within six months”, with an annual update to parliament on progress made on its commitments. She went on: I want to focus on some of the numbers of properties that are affected. There are currently 4,630 residential buildings above 11 metres whose remediation is being monitored by my department. Half of them have seen remediation start, with 1,350 having completed remediation. But counting the buildings we know about is not enough. We estimate there are as many as 7,000 buildings that need remediation that have not yet applied for the Cladding Safety Scheme. That is a maximum estimate, there may well be fewer, but those responsible for those buildings have no excuse for failing to apply and we will work with regulators to make sure they are identified. We will ensure dangerous buildings are found and dealt with. The money is there, the speed must increase … Our message to building owners is clear: those who fail to make their building safe will face enforcement action. The funding is there, the government has committed £5.1bn to remove dangerous cladding and industry is providing the rest. All blocks of residential flats above 11 metres now have access to a scheme to fix unsafe cladding. Qualifying leaseholders are protected by law from crippling bills for historical safety defects. The DUP MP Sammy Wilson has described the government’s decision to order a public inquiry into the murder of Patrick Finucane (see 3.01pm) as “shameful and perverse”. The Labour Government must explain why the ICIR is good enough for the many victims of terrorism but is not good enough for the Finucane family. Their decision to grant a costly public inquiry and elevate this case is shameful and perverse. A reader asks: Two questions for Andrew - 1) Is there any political system in the world which has mechanisms in place to deal with the mismanagement (financial or otherwise) of political leaders? 2) Is there any country which has mechanisms in place to ensure that their population do not have to directly pay for the mistakes/mismanagement of their politicians whilst in office? The standard answer would be – yes, we have a mechanism, and they are called elections. (Coups and revolutions have been tried in the past, but elections are generally viewed as preferable.) In most countries leaders are also subject to the criminal law. But I can’t think of any process, beyond the electoral one, where politicians who act within the law are subject to sanctions for mismanagement. But in the UK there is a special process reserved (sometimes) for politicians who mess up. In his excellent new book on why government does not work properly in the UK, Failed State, Sam Freedman describes Chris Grayling as “high up in the list of the least competent people to be given high office in British history”. Freedman describes him like that because of his disastrous attempt to privatise the probation service, described by experts as an “unmitigated disaster” (although Grayling is also associated with various other administrative errors). And how is he paying the price for his mistakes? Just this afternoon, about half an hour ago, he took his seat in the House of Lords. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has published a lengthy guide to the renters’ rights bill, which is being published today. In a news release about it, Angela Rayner, the deputy PM and housing secretary, says: Renters have been let down for too long and too many are stuck in disgraceful conditions, powerless to act because of the threat of a retaliatory eviction hanging over them. Most landlords act in a responsible way but a small number of unscrupulous ones are tarnishing the reputation of the whole sector by making the most of the housing crisis and forcing tenants into bidding wars. There can be no more dither and delay. We must overhaul renting and rebalance the relationship between tenant and landlord. This bill will do just that and tenants can be reassured this government will protect them. Hilary Benn announces public inquiry into murder of Patrick Finucane Here is the full text of the Commons statement from Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, announcing a public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. This government takes its human rights obligations - and its responsibilities to victims and survivors of the Troubles - extremely seriously. And the plain fact is that two decades on, the commitment made by the government – first in the agreement with the Irish government, and then to this House - to establish an inquiry into the death of Mr Finucane remains unfulfilled. It is for this exceptional reason that I have decided to establish an independent inquiry into the death of Patrick Finucane under the 2005 Inquiries Act … In making this decision, I have, as is required, considered the likely costs and impact on the public finances. It is the Government’s expectation that the inquiry will - while doing everything that is required to discharge the State’s human rights obligations - avoid unnecessary costs given all the previous reviews and investigations, and the large amount of information and material that is already in the public domain. John Finucane, Pat’s son, who is a Sinn Féin MP, welcomed the news in a statement on social media. The Irish government also welcomed the news. This is from Micheál Martin, the tánaiste (deputy PM). Reeves says government won"t cut free bus passes, prescriptions and TV licences currently available for pensioners At one point during PMQs Keir Starmer refused to guarantee that the government would keep concessionary bus passes for pensioners. (See 12.32pm.) But in her GB News interview this morning, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, did commit to keeping bus passes for pensioners. Asked if the government was going to “cut back on bus passes”, and if the budget in October would be worse than expected, Reeves replied: We’ve committed to those bus passes, to free TV licenses for those entitled, and free prescriptions. Pensioners only get free TV licences if they are 75 or over and on pension credit. At its post-PMQs lobby briefing Downing Street refused to say if the government would be publishing an impact assessment into the winter fuel payments cut. A spokesperson said: Ministers will receive advice on the development of all policies but we don’t routinely provide a running commentary on the advice that they receive. We have spoken to the necessity of setting out the plans promptly, given the need to lay the regulations to come into effect in September. But earlier this week Miatta Fahnbulleh, an energy minister, told John McDonnell, in a parliamentary written answer that figures would be published in due course showing how many extra people were in fuel poverty as a result of the policy. She said: A statistical publication estimating the rate of fuel poverty for those in receipt of winter fuel payment in 2023, and the proportion of households who would be in fuel poverty under new eligibility criteria, will be published in due course. Reynolds admits deal with Tata Steel over better terms for workers facing redundancy "falls short of my ideal" Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, has told MPs that the deal the government has agreed with Tata Steel, linking a £500m government investment in a new electric furnace at the Port Talbot plant with improved terms for workers who are losing their jobs due to the closure of the last blast furnace, “falls short of what would be my ideal”. In a statement to MPs, he said: Since becoming the secretary of state two months ago, I’ve had to respond to a series of challenges not just with the steel industry, but also in shipping, such as Harland & Wolff, and in other areas where the previous government had simply ceased to make decisions and decided to leave them for us to deal with. This was a dereliction of duty and it has left the steel industry in particular in an extremely perilous position. The last government had been promising a plan for the steel industry for years. With what I’m able to announce today, with the signing of a legally-binding deal that enables Tata to order their electric arc furnace as part of a significantly improved package, this government has made more progress in two months than they made over the last parliament. But even if we had started these negotiations a year ago, never mind many years ago as they had the opportunity to do, I have no doubt we would have secured an even better deal for the community, so I would like to start with an apology to the people of Port Talbot because they were let down by the previous government. Whilst this deal is much improved, I acknowledge very much it falls short of what would be my ideal.