Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Amendment Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 4th November 1996.

(2) In these Regulations, "the principal Regulations" means the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988(3).

Amendment of regulation 1 of the principal Regulations

2.-(1) Regulation 1(2) of the principal Regulations(4) (interpretation) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) The words "Schedule 2 to these Regulations (meaning of references to Post Office postcode areas and sectors) shall have effect and" shall be omitted.

(3) After the definition of "the General Regulations" there shall be inserted the following definition-

""the Meteorological Office" means the Meteorological Office of the Ministry of Defence;."

(4) In the definition of "forecast"-

(a)the words "of the Ministry of Defence" shall be omitted;

(b)after the words "on a daily basis" there shall be inserted the words "between 1st November in any year and 31st March in the following year,".

(5) After the definition of "home" there shall be inserted the following definition-

""income-based jobseeker's allowance" has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Jobseekers Act 1995(5) by virtue of section 1(4) of that Act;."

(6) For the definition of "postcode" there shall be substituted the following definition-

""postcode district" means a Post Office postcode district;."

(7) The definition of "sector" shall be omitted.

(8) For the definition of "station" there shall be substituted the following definition-

""station" means a station accredited by the Meteorological Office at which a period of cold weather may be forecasted or recorded for the purposes of these Regulations;."

Amendment of regulation 1A of the principal Regulations

3. In regulation 1A of the principal Regulations(6) (prescribed description of persons)-

(a)after the words "income support" there shall be inserted the words "or income-based jobseeker's allowance";

(b)after paragraph (i) there shall be inserted the following paragraph-

"(ia)whose applicable amount includes one or more of the premiums specified in paragraphs 10 to 16 of Part III of Schedule 1 to the Jobseeker's Allowance Regulations 1996(7) but does not include the allowance specified in paragraph 3 of that Schedule (residential allowances); or."

Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations

4.-(1) Regulation 2 of the principal Regulations(8) (prescribed circumstances) shall be amended in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) In paragraph (1)(a)-

(a)in head (i), the words from "or, if that station" to "for that period" shall be omitted;

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

(c)after head (ii) there shall be inserted the following head-

"(iii)if a station referred to in (i) or (ii) ("the primary station") is unable to provide temperature information for the period in question, there is, as the case may be, a recorded period of cold weather or a forecasted period of cold weather at the specified alternative station for the primary station in column (2) of Schedule 2 to these Regulations or, where there is no such alternative station specified, at the nearest such station to the primary station able to provide temperature information for that period; and."

(3) For paragraph (1)(b) there shall be substituted the following sub-paragraph-

"(b)the home of the claimant is, or by virtue of paragraph (2)(b) is treated as, situated in a postcode district in respect of which the station mentioned in sub-paragraph (a)(i) or, as the case may be, (a)(ii) is the designated station."

(4) In paragraph (2)-

(a)in sub-paragraph (a), for the words "Post Office postcode areas or parts thereof" there shall be substituted the words "postcode districts";

(b)in sub-paragraph (b)-

(i)for the words "Post Office postcode area", in both places where those words occur, there shall be substituted the words "postcode district";

(ii)the words "or part of such an area", in both places where those words occur, shall be omitted.

Substitution of Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations

5. For Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations(9) (identification of weather 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

6. For Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations(10) (Post Office postcode areas and sectors), there shall be substituted the Schedule set out in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Regulation 5

SCHEDULE 1

Regulation 2(1)(a) and (2)

"SCHEDULE 1IDENTIFICATION OF STATIONS AND POSTCODE DISTRICTS

Regulation 6

"SCHEDULE 2

Regulation 2(1)(a) (iii)

"SCHEDULE 2SPECIFIED ALTERNATIVE STATIONS

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 (S.I.1988/1724 as amended) ("the principal Regulations") by-

• providing that income-based jobseeker's allowance is to be a qualifying benefit for the purpose of obtaining a cold weather payment and providing a definition of income-based jobseeker's allowance (regulations 2(5) and 3);

• providing a definition of the Meteorological Office, making a consequential amendment and also providing that only weather stations accredited by the Meteorological Office may provide forecasts for the purposes of these Regulations (regulation 2(3), (4)(a) and (8));

• specifying the period during which forecasts are supplied by the Meteorological Office (regulation 2(4) (b));

• clarifying the identification of the area of the claimant's home to the postcode district in which the home is (regulations 2(2), (6) and (7), 4(3) and (4) and 6);

• allowing forecasted periods of cold weather to be provided from the specified or nearest alternative weather station where the primary weather station is not available (regulation 4(2)).

These Regulations also replace Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations by providing a new list of weather stations and postcode districts for the purposes of these Regulations (regulation 5 and Schedule 1). They also insert a new Schedule 2 to those Regulations which identifies specified alternative weather stations to be used where certain primary weather stations are not available (regulations 4(2)(c) and 6 and Schedule 2).

The current Postcode Atlas of Great Britain and Northern Ireland may be obtained from its publishers, John Bartholomew and Son Ltd., whose address is 77-85 Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, London W6 8JB. A person may establish the current postcode for their address by contacting the Royal Mail Postcode Enquiries Office (tel. no 0345 111222).

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.