The Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988

These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 and shall come into force on 7th November 1988.

F9... In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

• F39“the 2012 Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2012;

• F27“the Act” means the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

• F22“the Welfare Reform Act” means the Welfare Reform Act 2007;

• “the General Regulations” means the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 M3;

• F52“the Met Office” means the Met Office of the F93Department for Science, Innovation and Technology;

• F28...

• F2“claimant” means a person who is claiming or has claimed income support F18, state pension credit F23, income-based jobseeker's allowance F40, income-related employment and support allowance or universal credit F70or who is in receipt of owner-occupier loan payments;

• F31“cold weather payment” means a payment to meet expenses for heating made out of the social fund under section 138(2) of the Act and these Regulations;

• F29“family” has the meaning given to it in section 137 of the Act and the General Regulations;

• F3“forecast” means a weather forecast produced by the F51Met Office F10... and supplied to the F25Department for Work and Pensions on a daily basis F11between 1st November in any year and 31st March in the following year, which provides the expected average mean daily temperature for a period of 7 consecutive days;

• F3“forecasted period of cold weather” means a period of 7 consecutive days, during which the average of the mean daily temperature for that period is forecasted to be equal to or below 0 degrees celsius; and for the purposes of this definition where a day forms part of a forecasted period of cold weather it shall not form part of any other such forecasted period;

• “home” means the dwelling, together with any garage, garden and outbuildings normally occupied by the claimant as his home, including any premises not so occupied which it is impracticable or unreasonable to sell separatelyF92...;

• F12“income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Jobseekers Act 1995 by virtue of section 1(4) of that Act;

• F24“income-related employment and support allowance” means an income-related allowance under Part 1 of the Welfare Reform Act (employment and support allowance);

• F30“income support” means income support under Part 7 of the Act;

• F19...

• “mean daily temperature” means, in respect of a day, the average of the maximum temperature and minimum temperature recorded at a F78site for that day;

• F66“member of the support group” means a person who has or is treated as having limited capability for work-related activity under Part 6 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008;

• F67“member of the work-related activity group” means a person who has or is treated as having limited capability for work under Part 5 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008 other than by virtue of regulation 30 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008;

• F4“overlap period” means any period of a day or days, where a day forms part of a recorded period of cold weather and also forms part of a forecasted period of cold weather;

• F71“owner-occupier loan payments” means loan payments made under the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017;

• F5...

• F19...

• F28...

• F13“postcode district” F17shall be construed in accordance with the Postcode Address File (within the meaning given by section 116 of the Postal Services Act 2000)F16except 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;

• F6“recorded period of cold weather” means a period of 7 consecutive days, during which the average of the mean daily temperature recorded for that period was equal to or below 0 degrees celsius; and for the purposes of this definition where a day forms part of a recorded period of cold weather it shall not form part of any other such recorded period;

• F14...

• F20“state pension credit” has the meaning given by section 1(1) of the State Pension Credit Act 2002”

• F79“site” means a site accredited by the Met Office in relation to which a period of cold weather may be forecasted or recorded for the purposes of these Regulations;

• F41“universal credit” means universal credit under Part 1 of the 2012 Act;

• F19...

• F31“winter period” means the period beginning on 1st November in any year and ending on 31st March in the following year.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to a numbered regulation is to the regulation in these Regulations bearing that number and a reference in a regulation to a numbered paragraph or sub-paragraph is to the paragraph or sub-paragraph in that regulation bearing that number.

A cold weather payment may be made in the circumstances prescribed by regulation 2 to a person who satisfies the following conditions.

In F90paragraphs (2) and (3), a person being treated as entitled to a benefit has the meaning given to it in regulation 2(2)(aa) of the Loans for Mortgage Interest Regulations 2017.

In relation to a person who has been awarded universal credit, the third condition applies as if paragraph (4)(d) were omitted.

The fifth condition is that the person’s home is in England or Wales.

Subject to paragraphs(4) and (5) where a recorded period of cold weather is joined by an overlap period to a forecasted period of cold weather a payment under paragraph (1) may only be made in respect of the forecasted period of cold weather

A cold weather payment may not be made after the end of the period of 26 weeks beginning with the last day of the winter period in which the period of cold weather concerned falls.

For the purposes of this regulation—

• “alternative F84site” means a F84site—

  1. a

     which, in the opinion of the Met Office, is the most geographically and climatologically representative for the postcode district in which the home of the claimant is situated, and

  2. b

     is able to provide temperature information—

     1. i

        for the purposes of paragraph (1A), for the relevant day, or

     2. ii

        for the purposes of paragraph (1B), for the production of a forecast for the relevant period;

• “primary F84site” means a F84site designated for a postcode district in accordance with regulation 2A(1);

• “secondary F84site” means a F84site designated for a postcode district in accordance with regulation 2A(2).

The Secretary of State must designate a primary F86site for each postcode district.

The Secretary of State may designate a secondary F86site for each postcode district.

The Secretary of State must publish details of a designation under regulation 2A.

Publication under paragraph (1) may be in such manner as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

The Secretary of State must, in accordance with paragraph (2), review a designation under regulation 2A to determine if it remains appropriate.

Each designation must be reviewed every 12 months, in the period beginning with 1st November and ending with 31st October.

Publication under paragraph (3)(b) may be in such manner as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

When determining whether to vary a designation, the Secretary of State must have regard to any recommendation made by the Met Office.