§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what estimate he has formed of the effect of the change in weather stations used for the calculation of the cold weather payments for Ayrshire during the recent cold spell.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of cold weather payments is a matter for Michael Bichard, the Chief Executive to the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Mr. M. Bichard to Mr. George Foulkes, dated 6 December 1993:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the effect of the change in weather stations used for the calculation of Cold Weather Payments for Ayrshire.The reason for the change of weather station for Ayrshire was the closure of the station at Prestwick. Prestwick station no longer provides any data to the Meteorological Office and it is therefore not possible to say if Prestwick would have triggered any Cold Weather Payments in the recent cold weather.The replacement station for that part of the mainland affected by the change (Postcodes KA1-26 and KA28-30) is Glasgow Airport. This weather station has triggered cold weather payments for the period 19 November to 25 November, when the running seven-day mean temperature was –0.3 degrees Centigrade. These payments have now been issued.The only part of Prestwick's old area not covered by the Glasgow weather station is the Isle of Arran (Postcode KA27), which was reassigned to the weather station at Macrihanish. Macrihanish station has not triggered any payments yet this winter. The running seven-day mean temperature ending 25 November 1993, was 3.4 degrees Centigrade.Information provided by the Meteorological Office is that the Glasgow station historically records lower temperatures than Prestwick and is, therefore, more likely to trigger payments. The Meteorological Office have also informed us that the weather station at Macrihanish best reflects the weather on the Isle of Arran.I hope that this reply has been helpful.