§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has made of(a) the number of claimants and (b) the cost of Cold Weather Payments in Paisley, South constituency in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1999. [113480]
§ Angela EagleThe administration of the Social Fund is a matter for Peter Mathison the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Douglas Alexander, dated 9 March 2000:
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about what estimate he has made of (a) the number of claimants and (b) the cost of cold weather payments in Paisley South constituency in (i) 1996, (ii) 1997, (iii) 1998 and (iv) 1999.Cold Weather Payments (CWPs) are triggered when the average temperature is recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0½C or below over seven consecutive days for a weather station area. Temperature information is collected through a network of 72 Met Office weather stations. Each weather station covers specified postcode districts.The information is not available in the requested format. This is because data concerning CWPs is collected by weather station areas. These areas do not correspond to Benefits Agency district or constituency boundaries. The attached table details the total estimated number of recipients and estimated total cost of CWPs during 1996 to 1999 for the weather stations serving the constituency area. However, it should be noted that the large Bishopton weather station area includes other constituencies as well as Paisley South.I hope this is helpful.Appendix One
From this winter (1999/00) the postcodes within the Paisley South constituency were linked to Bishopton weather station. Prior to this winter, the constituency was served by Abbotsinch (Glasgow Airport) weather station, which closed last year. Schedule 1 of the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Amendment Regulations 1999, details the post codes covered by the Bishopton weather station.
Number of estimated qualifying recipients for Bishopton/Abbotsinch weather stations and estimated total cost of Cold Weather Payments (CWP) Year Estimated qualifiers Number of triggers Total cost £ 1995–961 182,660 3 4,657,830 1996–971 170,835 2 2,904,195 1997–981 169,399 0 0.00 1998–991 165,882 0 0.00 1999–2000 165,060 0 0.00 1 These years were covered by Abbotsinch weather station Notes:
1. Temperatures are monitored between 1 November and 31 March, the following year
2. The estimated cost has been calculated by multiplying the number of triggers by the number of estimated qualifiers which is then multiplied by the cost per CWP (£8.50).