HC Deb 14 June 1991 vol 192 cc696-7W
Mr. Foulkes

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) if he has any plans to make an additional winter payment to all pensioners throughout the winter months from October to March;

(2) what steps he is taking to ensure that elderly people can meet the costs for heating their homes;

(3) whether he has sought the views of pensioner forums and other pensioner organisations in making his review of the cold weather payments;

(4) what plans he has to raise the current £6 per week cold weather payment;

(5) whether he will extend entitlement to cold weather payments to all pensioners, including those with incomes above the income support level; and whether he will change the cold weather payment system to make automatic payments without any need to claim;

(6) if he will express the value of the cold weather payment as a percentage of its real terms value when the payments were first introduced;

(7) what representations he has received on the current level of cold weather payments;

(8) if he will extend entitlement to cold weather payments to all pensioners, including those with incomes above the income support level;

(9) if he will change the cold weather payment system to make automatic payments without any need to claim.

Mr. Scott

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him earlier today. I have received representations from a number of organisations, including Age Concern. There was no standard amount payable for extreme cold weather when payments were first introduced.

Mr. Foulkes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Social Security what progress he is making in his review of the cold weather payments system.

Mr. Scott

Following my review of the cold weather payments scheme, I now propose some significant enhancements to the scheme.

The cold weather payments scheme provides additional payments to help vulnerable people with their extra costs of heating in periods of very cold weather and we have already introduced significant improvements to the scheme including a standard payment on a regulated basis; raising the trigger temperature from - 1.5°C to 0°C for all regions, and for any consecutive seven days; extending entitlement to households on income support with a child under five or a person over 60 or a disabled person; doubling of the capital limit for the elderly from £500 to £1,000; and increasing the weekly payment from £5 to £6.

These major improvements have increased the numbers eligible to 2.2 million and have also increased the cash amount and the frequency with which it becomes payable.

The substantial improvements I am now proposing are as follows:

First, we will abolish the present special capital rule governing eligibility for these payments. The £1,000 limit for those over 60 (£500 for others) will be abolished. All will be covered by the £3,000 rule which applies generally for income support. We estimate that the numbers eligible will, as a result of this measure, rise from about 2.2 million to about 2.6 million.

Secondly, in future, payments will be made automatically to all those who are eligible. The abolition of the special capital rule will enable us to do that. Subject to consultation with the Social Security Advisory Committee, I shall lay regulations abolishing the need for people to make a separate claim. The information already available about people on income support will identify those eligible, and they will then be paid automatically.

Thirdly, I propose to assure eligible people that if very cold weather arrives, they can turn up their heating. The Meteorological Office can now supply daily a forecast for each of the weather stations which we use which will indicate, with sufficient accuracy, the likely average temperature over the next seven days. Accordingly I propose to introduce a new regulation to provide for payments to be made for a seven-day period if the forecast for the local weather station shows that the temperature is likely to average 0°C or below.

This will be an enhancement, not a replacement, of the existing scheme. If there is no such forecast, but nevertheless 0°C or below is subsequently recorded for a seven-day period, payments will still be made.

Finally, I propose to make regulations further refining the ways in which the weather stations are linked to individual areas, details of which will be announced before the recess.

Corresponding changes will also be proposed for cold weather payments in Northern Ireland.