Cold Weather Payments (Hansard, 20 February 1996)

§ 17. Mr. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many cold weather payments were made in January. [14367]

18. Mr. Alan W. Williams
To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on cold weather payments. [14368]

§ Mr. Roger Evans
More than 2 million payments were made in January. So far this winter, more than 7 million payments, worth more than £62 million, have been made.
The current arrangements are responsive and focused on the most vulnerable groups, with automatic payments when there is a sustained period of very cold weather.
In consultation with the Meteorological Office, postcode areas are linked to one of 55 weather stations throughout the country which are best judged to represent the local climate. The effectiveness of the weather station links are reviewed annually and changes made where appropriate.