{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-fund-cold-weather-payments-general-amendment-regulations-1996/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-fund-cold-weather-payments-general-amendment-regulations-1996/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1996/2544",
  "legislation_title": "The Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Amendment Regulations 1996",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/social-fund-cold-weather-payments-general-amendment-regulations-1996",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThese Regulations amend the Social Fund Cold Weather Payments (General) Regulations 1988 (S.I.1988/1724 as amended) (“the principal Regulations”) by—\nproviding 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);\nproviding 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));\nspecifying the period during which forecasts are supplied by the Meteorological Office (regulation 2(4) (b));\nclarifying 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);\nallowing 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)).\nThese 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).\nThe 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).\nThese Regulations do not impose a charge on business.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/2544/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T12:34:30.704470+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}