§ Mr. WicksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list, for each week since 1 December 1995, for each Benefits Agency area,(a) the average minimum daily temperature, (b) if cold weather payments were triggered and (c) how many people received payments. [9623]
§ 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 hon. Member and a copy will be placed in the Library.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Malcolm Wicks, dated 18 January 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if he will list, for each week since 1st December 1995, for each Benefit Agency (BA) area, (a) the average minimum daily temperature, (b) if Cold Weather Payments (CWPs) were triggered and (c) how many people received payments.Data relating to average minimum daily temperature is collected by weather stations. A weather station covers a geographical area within which there can be several BA Districts. Information on temperatures for each BA area is not available.Statistics on the number of CWPs made for each month is placed in the House of Commons Library. The data for December 1995 will be available by 26 January 1996.Information on the areas triggered is provided at Annex A and copies will be placed in the Library.I hope you find this reply helpful