BACK-BENCH MPs continued to grill the government over means-testing the winter fuel allowance today amid fears many pensioners will miss the deadline to apply.

An estimated 10 million pensioners will no longer be eligible to receive the up to £300 lump sum after the government restricted it to those who qualify for pension credit and other means-tested help.

Ministers have been urging pensioners on a low income to apply before this Saturday for pension credit.

Neil Duncan-Jordan, Labour MP for Poole and former Unison regional officer, told the Commons during a work and pensions debate today: “The poorest pensioners in our society are those who are eligible for the pension credit but don’t claim it, or just a few pounds above the threshold and they miss out on passported support.

“Means testing by its very nature is simply not the best way to get help to those who need it most, so will the minister reconsider the recent decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance?”

Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds replied: “We won’t reconsider that decision because in a very tight fiscal environment when we inherited a £22 billion black hole from the party opposite, we had to take some very tough decisions.

“What I will say is, he’s given me the opportunity to remind people that they have until Saturday to make a pension credit claim which can be backdated and which will passport them to winter fuel payments and other related benefits.”

Labour MP for York Central Rachael Maskell said: “I know that older people are really going to struggle in winter in the city of York.

“How many signed up to the pension credit since July and what additional steps will be taken to ensure that those who miss out on the December 21 deadline will still be able to get support this winter?”

Ms Reynolds said claims have increased by 145 per cent since late July, adding: “We are working at pace to process these claims, we have deployed an additional 500 staff to make sure that all on the lowest incomes get the help they need.”

Unite has launched legal action against the government in a bid to overturn the cuts, saying ministers did not follow correct procedure in their decision to restrict the payments to poorer pensioners.

General secretary Sharon Graham has said “picking the pockets of pensioners is wrong at every level.”