Last week, the government confirmed it was U-turning on the winter fuel payment cut - one of the administration's most unpopular decisions.
The government now claims the finances are in a good enough state to spend more than a billion expanding eligibility.
Asked if the pain of the U-turn was worth it, Chancellor Rachel Reeves says: "When I became chancellor last year, I faced a 拢22bn black hole in the public finances.
"Over 拢6bn of that was undisclosed asylum costs, and we had to get a grip of the situation.
"I was told when I became chancellor that, if we tried to issue those additional government bonds, the cost of borrowing would increase."
Asked if this meant a potential run on the pound - something Reeves has been mocked for claiming previously - the chancellor says: "There were the very serious concerns at the Treasury and the debt management office about the level of our borrowing and the additional borrowing that hadn't been disclosed to financial markets."
She then indicates the situation is not better now because the government has more money, but because it is clearer where the existing money is going.
This might help the arguments of those who suggested the decision to cut winter fuel originated in the Treasury.
Some might say the chancellor is trying to point the blame that way with her answer - others would say she is explaining her previous decisions.