Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had discussions with Ministers in the Department for Communities in the Northern Ireland Executive on (a) eligibility for the winter fuel allowance and (b) that Department's access to administrative data used for the payment of winter fuel payments.

Ministers in the two Departments have discussed eligibility for Winter Fuel Payments in England and Wales, as part of continuing engagement between the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.

Winter Fuel Payments are a transferred matter in Northern Ireland, but the delivery infrastructure is provided by the Department for Work and Pensions. This includes the use of administrative data necessary to make the payments on behalf of the Department for Communities.