Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Cold Weather Payments have been distributed since that scheme's inception; and how much her Department has spent on those payments per annum.

The current system of cold weather payments was introduced in 1988. The payment is a fixed amount for each week of cold weather. From 1995 this was set at £8.50 a week. The Cold Weather Payment was temporarily increased from £8.50 to £25 for the winters of 2008/9 and 2009/10. This increase was made permanent in November 2010.

The table below shows the number of Cold Weather payments made and total expenditure in each year since 1988-89. 21/22 is due to be published in the next Annual Social Fund Report so has not been included below.

Notes

1. N/A= not available
2. Figures are for payments triggered in the relevant financial year.
3. There was a single level of payment each year, except in 1990-91 when the level of payment was increased during the year. A breakdown of the number
   of payments for that year by level is not available. 3. Some people were made more than one payment in some years.
4. Numbers of payments made are rounded to the nearest 1,000, except for
   1988-89 where the number of payments is rounded to the nearest 100.
   Amounts spent are rounded to the nearest £0.1 million, except for 1988-89
   where the amount spent is rounded to the nearest £1,000.
5. Data are not available on the numbers of payments received (as opposed
   to made) or on the numbers of people who received payments. However, the
   vast majority of payments are now made direct into bank accounts.
6. Source: Annual reports by the Secretary of State for Social Security/Work and
   Pensions on the Social Fund