LABOUR plans to means-test winter fuel payments without consulting Holyrood have left the Scottish benefit’s future hanging in the balance, Scotland’s government warned today.

SNP social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville hit out at the decision to slash eligibility for the payment to pensioners in England and Wales on the eve of the benefit becoming devolved.

The Scottish government’s £300 pension age winter heating payment was planned to continue in the universal footsteps of the old UK scheme.

But the minister fears that Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s move to means test could cut the Scottish block grant by up to £160 million, putting Scotland’s benefits universalism at risk.

Ms Somerville said: “The Chancellor’s decision to means-test winter fuel payment is disappointing and was made without consultation or discussion with the Scottish government, which contrasts with the UK government’s commitment to have a better working relationship.”

She added that the Scottish government was now “urgently considering the financial impact of the UK government’s cut to winter fuel payment in England and Wales, and what this means for our replacement, pension age winter heating payments in Scotland.

“The Scottish government is committed to tackling fuel poverty and has consistently supported vulnerable households through a range of actions.”

Defending the benefits cut on ITV’s This Morning programme, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “The frustration is what we inherited.

“It was horrendous when the Chancellor looked at the books.

“So there was some really difficult choices and what the Chancellor set out with the winter fuel payments was about people on pension credit.

“There’s thousands of people that are eligible for pension credit that are not currently receiving it.

“So my plea to people who are listening to this is check out whether you’re available for pension credit.”