§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much money was paid out, and how many people received lump sum payments, for help with heating costs as a result of extremely severe weather for each year from 1978 to date.
§ Dr. BoysonBefore November 1980, lump sum payments of supplementary benefit were made at the discretion of the Supplementary Benefits Commission during long spells of weather so severe that most people had to spend much more than normal on heating. Though no figures are available on the number of payments made specifically for this purpose, we believe that a few thousand such payments were made in the winter of 1978–79. Since November 1980, single payments of supplementary benefit have been governed by the Supplementary Benefit (Single Payments) Regulations, regulation 26 of which provides for payments to be made in periods of exceptionally severe weather. This provision has been used only in the winter of 1981–82 when a total of 280,000 payments were made at a cost of £3.6 million.