HC Deb 26 February 1986 vol 92 cc610-2W
Mr. Winnick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services to which areas of the United Kingdom the exceptionally severe weather payments have now been authorised; and from what date in each case.

Mr. Newton

I understand that adjudication officers in the following local offices have declared that the weather has been exceptionally severe in their area, although this list may not be complete. Information on the date from which a period of exceptionally severe weather has been declared in each area is not available.

London North Region
Acton Luton
Aylesbury Milton Keynes
Barking Neasden
Bedford Oxford
Bury St. Edmunds Paddington
Cambridge Peterborough
Canning Town Plaistow
Ealing Poplar
Edgeware Romford
Edmonton St. Albans
Euston Shoreditch
Finsbury Park Southall
Hackney Stepney
Harlesden Stevenage
Harlow Stoke Newington
Hemel Hempstead Tottenham
Hertford Uxbridge
Highgate Walthamstow
Hoxton Watford
King's Lynn Woodgrange Park
Leytonstone Wood Green
London South Region
Ashford Guildford
Balham Hastings
Battersea Hounslow
Bexley Hove
Bloomsbury Kennington
Bognor Regis Kennington Park
Bracknell Kensington
Brighton Kingston-upon-Thames
Brixton Lewes
Bromley Lewisham
Camberwell Maidstone
Canterbury Morden
Chatham New Forest
Chelsea Newport I.O.W.
Chichester Orpington
Crawley Peckham
Croydon Reading
Crystal Palace Redhill
Dartford Rochester
Dover Sittingbourne
Eastbourne Slough
Eltham Southwark
Epsom Streatham
Folkestone Surbiton
Gravesend Sutton
Greenwich Park Thanet
Greenwich West Tunbridge Wells
Twickenham Winchester
Wandsworth Woking
Westminster Woolwich
Wimbledon Worthing
Wales and South West Region
Aberdare Ebbw Vale
Abertillery Gloucester
Aberystwyth Haverfordwest
Ammanford Launceston
Bargoed Llanelli
Barnstaple Merthyr Tydfil
Barry Morriston
Bath Neath
Blackwood Newport
Bridgend Newtown
Bridgewater Pembroke Dock
Bristol Central Plymouth
Bristol East Portmadog/Dolgellau
Bristol Horfield Port Talbot
Bristol South St. Austell
Caerphilly Salisbury
Cardiff Central Stroud
Cardiff East Swansea
Cardiff West Swindon
Carmarthen Taunton
Cheltenham Truro
Chippenham Weston-super-Mare
Cwmbran Yeovil
Devonport
Midlands Region
Birmingham Bradford Street Lincoln Newland
Birmingham Edgbaston Lincoln Orchard Street
Birmingham Erdington Mansfield
Birmingham Handsworth Newcastle Staffs
Birmingham Ladywood Northampton
Birmingham Northfield Nottingham Castle Gate
Birmingham Perry Barr Nottingham David Lane
Birmingham Ravenhurst Nottingham Shakespeare Street
Birmingham South Yardley
Birmingham Sparkhill Nottingham Station Street
Birmingham Washwood Heath Nuneaton
Boston Redditch
Burton on Trent Shrewsbury
Cannock Skegness
Chesterfield Stafford
Corby Stoke on Trent North
Coventry East Stoke on Trent South
Coventry West Sutton-in-Ashfield
Derby Becket Street Telford
Derby London Road Walsall East
Derby Victoria Street Walsall West
Dudley North Wellingborough
Dudley South Wolverhampton North
Grantham Wolverhampton South
Hereford Worcester
Ilkeston
Kidderminster
North Eastern Region
Barnsley East Hull West
Barnsley West Keighley
Bradford East Leeds Central
Bradford South Leeds North
Bradford West Leeds North West
Castleford Leeds South
Dewsbury Leeds South East
Eston Leeds West
Goole Middlesbrough
Grimsby Redcar
Halifax Scarborough
Harrogate Scunthorpe
Hartlepool Sheffield North East
Hexham Sheffield North West
Huddersfield Sheffield South East
Hull East Sheffield South West
Stockton York
Wakefield
Wath-on-Dearne
North Western Region
Buxton Penrith

Information for Northern Ireland should be obtained from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

Mr. Winnick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what publicity is being given to the exceptionally severe weather payments in the areas in which such payments are now authorised.

Mr. Newton

I refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 24 February, at column470.

Mr. Winnick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the exceptionally severe weather payment can be authorised where payment has already been made by the individual of the current fuel bill; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Newton

I refer the hon. Member to the guidance issued by the Chief Adjudication Officer on 6 December 1985, a copy of which is in the Library.

Mr. Winnick

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services if the exceptionally severe weather payment is to be given when the individual pays the fuel bill by weekly or monthly stamps; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Newton

Claimants who budget for their fuel bills by purchasing weekly or monthly stamps, and whose fuel bill is then higher than expected because of a period of exceptionally severe weather, are eligible for a single payment towards the extra cost of meeting the bill.