Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using alternative methods of determining eligibility for cold weather payments.

The Department continually monitors Cold Weather Payment policies and procedures to identify opportunities to improve the scheme's effectiveness. This includes working with the Met Office, who review the scheme each year to assess whether the linkages between postcode areas and weather stations remain the best available.