Cold Weather Payments: Inverclyde
(asked on 2nd December 2021) - View Source
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 issued by her Department to households in Inverclyde in each of the last five years.
The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than at a constituency or regional level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office, which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold weather payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0oC or below over seven consecutive days, during the Cold Weather season (November to March)
The constituency of Inverclyde covers all or part of the following postcode areas: PA11, PA13, PA14, PA15, PA16, PA17, PA18 and PA19.
These postcode areas are covered by the weather station Bishopton, which also include constituencies other than Inverclyde.
Table 1 Postcode districts mapped to Weather Stations | |
Weather station | Postcode Districts Covered |
Bishopton | G1-5, G11-15, G20-23, G31-34, G40-46, G51-53, G60-62, G64, G66, G69, G71-78, G81-84, ML4-5, PA1-19, PA21-27, PA32. |
Table 2 summarises the number of triggers in the Bishopton weather station over the last 5 complete Cold Weather Payment seasons and the estimated number of payments in the Bishopton weather station area.
Table 2 Estimated number of Cold Weather recipients linked to the Bishopton weather station | ||
Year | Triggers for Bishopton weather station | Estimated number of payments for Bishopton weather station |
20/21 | 1 | 139,000 |
19/20 | 0 | 0 |
18/19 | 1 | 137,000 |
17/18 | 2 | 276,000 |
16/17 | 0 | 0 |
Where there have been no cold weather triggers in the Bishopton weather station area, no payments were made to eligible recipients.
Notes
- The number of eligible claimants given here is an estimate as information on the exact number is not readily available. These figures are produced by determining the volume of eligible recipients in each weather station area at the start of the winter season. These figures are then used throughout the winter to estimate payments and expenditure based on the actual triggers recorded.
- The number of payments made is not necessarily the total number of individuals benefitting from a Cold Weather Payment. Any individuals making a joint claim for one of the qualifying benefits, such as a couple living together, will receive one payment between them rather than one payment each. Furthermore, if a weather station triggers more than once throughout a cold weather season then the recipients will receive more than one payment.