John Swinney said his government will work very closely with citizens to "maximise eligibility for the winter fuel payment" in the wake of its scrapping by the UK Government.
Sir Keir Starmer defended the decision, saying it was needed to repair a £22bn "hole" in the public finances.
The Scottish Government said they had no choice but to follow suit.
"We didn't want to take this decision - this decision was taken for us by the UK Government who abrutply, with very little notice, decided to end the provision for winter fuel payments," Mr Swinney said.
Report by Kennedyl.
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