Oral Answers to Questions

Andrew Bingham Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Bingham (High Peak) (Con)]

9. What assistance his Department has provided to vulnerable people to protect them from cold weather.

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb)]

This winter, we have made more than 5 million cold weather payments at a cost of more than £129 million and over 12 million winter fuel payments at a cost of over £2 billion.

[Andrew Bingham]

I would like to make a plea on behalf of the pensioners in my High Peak constituency, which, as the Minister’s colleagues on the Front Bench will know from previous visits, is one of the coldest in the country. Will the Minister concede that winters in High Peak are cold, bringing increased heating costs for all our residents, but more particularly for old-age pensioners?

[Steve Webb]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Although I have not visited his constituency, I suspect there is a clue in the name. He will be pleased to know that three weather stations are linked to his constituency—Bingley, Woodford and Leek—and each has been triggered twice this winter, so low-income pensioners and disabled people will all have received £50 this winter to help them with their fuel bills.