Cold Weather Payments

Mr. Salmond
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what account he takes of the number of homes in Scotland which are heated by coal fires when determining cold weather payments.

Mr. Plaskitt
Eligible customers for cold weather payments are those people awarded pension credit and those awarded income support or income-based jobseeker's allowance who have a pensioner or disability premium, or have a child who is disabled or under the age of five when the temperature criteria are met for their postcode.

No account is taken of the form of heating used.