§ Mr. HansonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will review the cold weather payments scheme so as more accurately to reflect regional and local variations and to introduce a more flexible scheme.
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe cold weather payment scheme is reviewed annually with the Meteorological Office to ensure the links between weather stations and local post code areas are as efficient and effective as possible. The 53W Meteorological Office uses its judgment and expertise to link post code areas to 63 national weather stations, reflecting the terrain and local conditions. Substantial changes have been introduced to enable automatic payments to be made for each forecasted or sustained period of exceptionally cold weather ensuring a 100 per cent. take-up of payments.