Winter Fuel Payments

HC Deb 10 March 2000 vol 345 c847W

Mr. Davidson

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many Winter Fuel Payments were not made before Christmas(a) for the UK and (b) by region. [113341]

Angela Eagle

The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is as follows.

All 1999–2000 Winter Fuel Payments were issued to eligible customers by three routes direct to home address, by automated credit transfer into a bank account or to the Post Office. All payments were dispatched by Royal Mail to customers by Christmas 1999.

Approximately 85,000 payments were not collected for a variety of reasons and were returned by the Post Offices. Subsequently, these were investigated and payments made as necessary.