asked the Secretary of State for Social Services, for each quarter since the fourth quarter of 1980, what was the number of supplementary benefit claimants who received single payments for fuel because of exceptionally severe weather, the total amount involved and the average payment made.

The only figures that are available were collected as part of a special exercise between 16 January 1982 and 11 May 1982. During this period a total of 278,112 payments were made, totalling £3,581,797. The average payment was £12·88.

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what supplementary benefit was paid per capita of the population for each year since 1979 for the Northern region and the Bishop Auckland constituency;(2) what supplementary benefit was paid per capita of the population for each year since 1979 in Wales;(3) what supplementary benefit was paid per capita of the population for each year since 1979 for Scotland.

The average annual amount of supplementary benefit per capita of the population in the Department's—former—Northern region, in Scotland and in Wales was as follows. Figures for Bishop Auckland cannot be separately calculated.