Labour ministers “deliberately withheld” crucial information about the impact of axing winter fuel payments, it has been claimed.
The Conservatives said the failure to disclose the impact of ending universal cold weather payments may have broken Cabinet Office guidance and even the Ministerial Code.
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of covering up estimates of how many elderly people could die this winter.
The Department for Work and Pensions released a “high level equality analysis” following a Freedom of Information request.
Men are more likely to lose out under the changes than women, while 97% of couples will be hit. Some 5.5 million pensioners will miss out and 4.5 million of those live alone.
The figures show that 71% of people with a disability who currently get a winter fuel payment will lose it, around 1.6m pensioners.
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, Chris Philp, told the Sunday Telegraph: “This clearly breaches Cabinet Office guidance and possibly the Ministerial Code.
“It is appalling that on September 10, members of this House were asked to vote on the motion, while the equalities analysis that the Government released on September 13 was clearly available, but the Government chose to withhold it from members before the vote.”
He went on to argue that he can “only conclude” the Government “deliberately withheld important information from the House, about a callous policy that will impact millions of our constituents”.
Mr Philp said: “It chose only to make it available once the vote on the regulations had been won, and after Parliament had risen. As a result, there would not be a timely opportunity for members of this House to question the Government about the impact that cutting winter fuel payments will have on their constituents.”
A spokesman for the Leader of the Commons said: “Means testing the winter fuel payment was not a decision the Government wanted or expected to make. But we inherited a £22 billion black hole in the public finances for this year alone.
“This Government is committed to the highest standards, ensuring we are open and transparent with Parliament and the public. The equality analysis was published by the Department for Work and Pensions and is available online.”
