§ Baroness Jegerasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the claim form for applicants asking for £5 severe weather allowance weekly enquires whether the applicant is or is not a householder, what is the effect of a negative or affirmative answer; and what is the definition of a householder in this context.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Baroness Trumpington)The claim form asks whether the claimant is a householder because this is one of the qualifying conditions for exceptionally cold weather payments. A householder in this context includes a joint householder, and means a person who is responsible for housing expenditure or, if the household incurs no such expenditure, is the member of the household with major control over household expenditure.