New winter fuel payment rules will see the number of recipients fall in North West Leicestershire by over 90 per cent, according to figures released this week.

More than 150,000 people across Leicester and the county will be worse off under the Government's new winter fuel payment rules.

The changes mean more than 90 per cent of elderly residents in every Leicestershire district and borough will no longer receive the fund after the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, announced the move on Monday.

The Labour minister said the Government would be halting the universal aspect of the payment, which is designed to help pensioners pay higher fuel costs in winter months. The announcement was one of a raft of measures put forward by Ms Reeves to help fill what she said was a £22 billion "black hole" in public finances left by the previous Conservative Government.

The winter fuel payment will still be available to those aged 66 or over – the current UK state pension age – who receive Pension Credit or a limited number of other benefits, including Universal Credit, Ms Reeves said.

It will be set at £200 for households where the recipients are all under 80, and £300 for those with someone over the age of 80. The payment was previously available to all pensioners, regardless of income or savings.

The rule changes mean just 1.5 million people are expected to receive the assistance this winter, down from around 11.1 million in 2022/23, the latest figures available. Across Leicester and Leicestershire, 158,500 people will miss out on the cash this year.

In North West Leicestershire, the Reach Data Unit says the district will see 18,485 fewer payments, from 20,064 down to 1,579 – a reduction of 92.1 per cent.

Charnwood will see the biggest drop in the number of recipients, going from 32,746 eligible people in 2022/23 to just 2,836 people under the new plan.

This means 29,910 pensioners in the borough will miss out on the payment this year, a reduction of 91.3 per cent.

Leicester has the next highest drop at 28,963 people no longer eligible. Payments this year will go out to 10,176 people in the city as opposed to 39,139 in 2022/23. This means 74 per cent of previous recipients will no longer get the cash in Leicester.

Some 22,431 Hinckley and Bosworth pensioners are set to miss out under the rule change. The borough will see the number of people getting the money decrease from 24,238 to just 1,807 under the new plan, a reduction of 22,431 people or 92.5 per cent.

In Harborough, 93.9 per cent of pensioners will no longer get the money. The number of recipients will drop by 19,103 people – from 20,343 to just 1,240.

Blaby district comes in next with a drop of 18,388 – a 91.9 per cent reduction from 19,998 people receiving the cash to 1,610.

In Melton borough, only 770 elderly people will be eligible under the new rules, down from 11,729 previously. This is a 93.4 per cent reduction with 10,959 fewer beneficiaries.

Finally, Oadby and Wigston borough will see the number of recipients fall from 11,335 to 1,074 – a drop of 10,261 people or 90.5 per cent.

However, charities have criticised the cuts with Age UK warning that up to two million elderly people who just miss out on receiving a payment could face some stark choices next winter, the Reach Data Unit said.The charity says that one in three pensioners who are entitled to pension credit do not claim it.

Age UK estimates that more than 800,000 elderly people on low incomes who do not receive pension credit will now also lose their winter fuel payments.

Around a million additional elderly people with incomes below £50 per week will also be hit hard by the loss of the payment, the charity estimates.

Age UK says the cuts will also hit a third group living in energy-inefficient homes – or with illnesses that make it necessary for them to stay warm – who may struggle to find the extra money to heat their homes. Charity director Caroline Abrahams CBE said: "We strongly oppose the means-testing of Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) because our initial estimate is that as many as two million pensioners who badly need the money to stay warm this winter will not receive it and will be in trouble as a result – yet at the other end of the spectrum well-off older people will scarcely notice the difference – a social injustice.

"It is well established that pensioners tend to do everything possible to avoid going into debt, so if they are worried about their future energy bills, we know their likely response will be to ration their fuel use and economise by reducing their spending on other essentials. This proposed policy change is therefore certain to result in more older people experiencing a horrible 'eating or heating' dilemma."

In her speech to Parliament, Ms Reeves told the House of Commons: "This level of overspend is not sustainable.

"Left unchecked, it is a risk to economic stability and, unlike the party opposite, I will never take risks with our country's economic stability.

"So, it therefore falls to us to take the difficult decisions now to make further in-year savings. The scale of the situation we are dealing with means incredibly tough choices.

"I repeat today the commitment that we made in our manifesto to protect the triple-lock but I am making the difficult decision that those not in receipt of pension credit or certain other means-tested benefits will no longer receive the winter fuel payment from this year onwards.

"The Government will continue to provide winter fuel payments worth £200 to households receiving pension credit or £300 to households in receipt of pension credit with someone over the age of 80.

"Let me be clear, this is not a decision I wanted to make, nor is it the one I expected to make – but these are the necessary and urgent decisions that I must make." The measure is expected to save the public purse £1.5 billion."