§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services, pursuant to his reply, Official Report, 14 January, column 64, what sum he estimates will be incurred in meeting claims for exceptionally severe weather payments in respect of the week ended 12 January.
§ Mr. NewtonInformation is not available to estimate the cost of meeting claims for payments of supplementary benefit towards fuel bills in respect of the week ended 12 January.
§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will make a statement on the future of the exceptionally severe weather payments.
§ Mr. NewtonWe have no plans at present to change the existing provisions relating to single payments for helping supplementary benefit claimants to pay for extra fuel used in periods of exceptionally severe weather. However, the chief adjudication officer will no doubt be looking at the guidance he has issued on the interpretation of the regulations in the light of experience. More generally, we are looking at the provision for meeting special expenses of this sort in the context of the supplementary benefit review.
§ Mr. Gordon Brownasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how much was paid out in exceptionally severe weather payments in 1981, 1982, 1983 and 1984.
§ Mr. NewtonThere were no payments made in 1981, 1983 or 1984 under Supplementary Benefit (Single Payments) Regulation 26(1)(a)—help with fuel bills in periods of exceptionally severe weather. In 1982, about 280,000 payments were made at a cost of some £3.6 million.