§ Mr. ShoreTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many households in the London borough of Tower Hamlets qualified for severe weather payments during the period 1 November 1995 to 1 April 1996; and on how many occasions. [26297]
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of the social fund is a matter for Peter Mathison, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the right hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Peter Shore, dated 29 April 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many households in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets qualified for severe weather payments during the period 1st November 1995 to 1st April 1996; and on how many occasions.The information is not available in the form you have requested and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.However I am able to provide you with the number of Cold Weather Payments (CWPs) made by each Benefits Agency (BA) District in your constituency, during the period 1 November 1995 and 1 April 1996. Statistics are kept for BA Districts and not for specific geographical areas. BA customers living in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets are dealt with by the City East District or Hackney and Islington District. Postal codes within the areas covered by these Districts are linked to the weather station at Heathrow Airport.During the period 1 November 1995 to 1 April 1996, Heathrow Airport weather station identified one recorded period of cold weather from 24 December 1995 to 30 December 1995 inclusive.The information available is shown in the attached Annex.I hope you find this reply helpful.
Cold Weather payments 1 November 1995–31 March 1996 Period 24 to 30 December 1995 City East District Hackney and Islington District 18,076 27,615 Figures are provisional and subject to change.