Consultation outcome

Changes to the Cold Weather Payments official statistics

From:: Department for Work and Pensions
Published: 16 April 2018
Last updated: 7 September 2018 — See all updates

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Detail of outcome

We published the response to this consultation on 7 September 2018.

The response updates the previous publication strategy that began with the 2015 to 2016 publications of Cold Weather Payments official statistics.

We will be publishing Cold Weather Payments estimates for the Cold Weather Payments season 2018 to 2019 as outlined in this response.

Consultation response

The Cold Weather Payments official statistics consultation ran from 16 April 2018 to 16 June 2018. The responses we received helped identify user requirements and prioritise the future development of the Cold Weather Payments official statistics.

The consultation asked users for their views on the following proposed changes:

reduce the frequency of the publication from weekly to monthly
only publish the location and timing of cold weather triggers

Current publication content and frequency

The Cold Weather Payments official statistics publication currently provides estimates of:

the eligible caseload
the number of payments
expenditure

Estimates of eligible caseload remain constant throughout the Cold Weather Payments season. Estimates of the number of payments and expenditure are updated as Cold Weather Payments triggers occur throughout the Cold Weather Payments season (November to March).

Cold Weather Payments official statistics are published on a weekly basis throughout the Cold Weather Payments season, and provide the following breakdowns:

estimated eligible caseload, number of payments, and expenditure by country*
estimated eligible caseload, number of payments, and expenditure by weather station*
estimated number of payments and expenditure by week and month
total number of triggers by week and month
total number of triggers by weather station and country

Breakdowns marked with an asterisk (*) are also split by the working age benefit and Pension Credit eligible population.

Changes to the official statistics following consultation

For the 2018 to 2019 Cold Weather Payments season, and going forwards, the estimated number of payments and expenditure will not be included in the official statistics publication. However, the estimated eligible caseload by weather station will continue to be provided, as well as information on the timing and location of Cold Weather Payments triggers. This will allow users of the publication to calculate estimates of the number of payments and expenditure, if required. We will also publish guidance on how to calculate these estimates.

Responses to the consultation highlighted the need for timely estimates of the number of payments and expenditure, particularly during periods of extreme cold weather. Therefore we will continue to release the publication on a weekly basis. Each weekly publication will update the number of triggers, giving their timing and location. As estimates of eligible caseload will also be provided, this will enable users of the publication to update any estimates of payments or expenditure they have calculated, if required.

Responses to the consultation outlined a continuing need for breakdowns by specific localities.

We will therefore provide the following breakdowns:

eligible caseload by weather station and country
total number of triggers by week and month
total number of triggers by weather station and country

Eligible caseload by weather station and country will also be split by the working age benefit and Pension Credit population.

Providing these breakdowns will enable users of the publication to produce the same breakdowns of the estimated number of payments and expenditure that were included in the 2017 to 2018 Cold Weather Payments official statistics publication, if required.

The Department for Work and Pensions is keen to receive on-going feedback from users. Email your feedback to [email protected].

Original consultation

Consultation description

We are proposing to make changes to the Cold Weather Payments official statistics.

In summary, the proposals are to:

reduce the frequency of the publication from weekly to monthly
only publish the location and timing of cold weather triggers

Please provide comments by email – you can use the optional template (annex A) to provide your feedback.

Documents