§ Mr. WallaceTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if cold weather payments would have been triggered for(a) Orkney and (b) Shetland for the period 17 to 20 January if the wind chill factor had been incorporated into the recorded or forecasted temperatures. [26084]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information requested cannot be ascertained, because the existing Cold Weather Payments scheme does not contain a trigger criterion which combines wind speed with external air temperature.
A number of formulae are used to calculate the combined effects of air temperature and wind speed on the human body when in the open air ("wind chill"). The Building Research Establishment advises that this way of combining temperatures and wind speed is not appropriate when assessing heat loss from buildings, because different heat transfer mechanisms apply.
The amount of additional heating required during a spell of low air temperatures depends on a number of varying factors in addition to wind speed. These include the house type, site and location, insulation standard, the method of heating and its efficiency.