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Rachel Reeves<\/a> has confirmed the government will increase the number of pensioners who are eligible for winter fuel payments<\/a> in time for this winter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s the first time Labour<\/a> has offered a rough time frame for when it will reinstate the lump sum payment to British pensioners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The government axed the allowance of up to \u00a3300 from 10 million elderly people in last year\u2019s Budget<\/a>, by turning the universal policy into a means-tested one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It was part of the government\u2019s plan to fill the alleged \u00a322bn black hole <\/a>the Tories had supposedly left behind in the public finances.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n But this policy change sparked intense outrage both within and outside of Labour and added to the party\u2019s decline in the opinion polls.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The success of Reform UK \u2013 who have promised to bring back the universal payment for every pensioner \u2013 in the local elections added pressure to the government to reverse the policy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Despite initially rejecting reports<\/a> which suggested Labour was of considering a U-turn, prime minister Keir Starmer <\/a>then announced changes to the winter fuel payment last month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Today, the chancellor told reporters they would make sure more pensioners were eligible by the upcoming winter, now the public finances are \u201con a firmer footing\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Reeves said: \u201cWe have listened to the concerns that people had about the level of the means test, and so we will be making changes to that, they will be in place so that pensioners are paid this coming winter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll announce the detail of that and the level of that as soon as we possibly can.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cBut people should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get a winter fuel payment this winter.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n It remains unclear how many pensioners will become eligible for the winter fuel payment or when exactly the changes will kick in. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n