The Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Amendment Regulations 1997

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Amendment Regulations 1997 and shall come into force on 1st November 1997.

(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988(1).

Amendment of regulation 1 of the principal Regulations

2.  In regulation 1(2) of the principal Regulations (interpretation), at the end of the definition of “postcode district”(2), there shall be added the words “except in the case of any postcode district which is identified with an alpha suffix which shall, for the purposes of these Regulations, be treated as if it forms part of a postcode district which is identified without that suffix”.

Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations

3.—(1) Regulation 2 of the principal Regulations(3) (prescribed circumstances) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) In paragraph (1)(a)—

(a) after the word “paragraphs” there shall be inserted “(1A), (1B),”;

(b) in head (ii), for the word “or” there shall be substituted the word “and”;

(c) head (iii) shall be omitted.

(3) After paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—

“(1A) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a)(i), where a station identified in column (1) of Schedule 1 to these Regulations (in this paragraph and in paragraph (1B) referred to as “the primary station”) is unable to provide temperature information in respect of a particular day, the mean daily temperature on that day—

(a) at the alternative station for that primary station specified in column (2) of Schedule 2 to these Regulations; or

(b) where there is no such alternative station specified, at the nearest station to that primary station able to provide temperature information in respect of that day,

shall be used to determine whether or not there is a recorded period of cold weather at the relevant primary station.

(1B) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a)(ii), where the Meteorological Office is unable to produce a forecast in respect of a particular period at a primary station, any forecast produced in respect of that period—

(a) at the alternative station for that primary station specified in column (2) of Schedule 2 to these Regulations; or

(b) where there is no such alternative station specified, at the nearest station to that primary station able to provide temperature information for that period,

shall be used to determine whether or not there is a forecasted period of cold weather at the relevant primary station.”.

Substitution of Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations

4.  For Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations(4) (identification of stations and postcode districts), there shall be substituted the Schedule set out in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

Substitution of Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations

5.  For Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations(5) (specified alternative stations), there shall be substituted the Schedule set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.

Frank Field

Minister of State,

Department of Social Security

25th September 1997