
1 

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Fund (Cold Weather Payments) (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 and shall come into operation on 1st November 1997.
(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to a Measure of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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(1) Regulation 2(1) of the Social Fund (Cold Weather Payments) (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1988 (prescribed circumstances) shall be amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).
(2) In sub paragraph (a)—
(a) after “paragraphs” there shall be inserted “(1A), (1B),”;
(b) in head (ii) for “or” there shall be substituted “and”;
(c) head (iii) shall be omitted.
(3) After paragraph (1) there shall be inserted the following paragraphs—“
(1A) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a)(i), where a station identified in column (1) of Schedule 1 (in this paragraph and in paragraph (1B) referred to as “the primary station”) is unable to provide temperature information in respect of a particular day, the mean daily temperature on that day at the nearest station to that primary station able to provide temperature information in respect of that day shall be used to determine whether or not there is a recorded period of cold weather at the relevant primary station.
(1B) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a)(ii), where the Meteorological Office is unable to produce a forecast in respect of a particular period at a primary station, any forecast produced in respect of that period at the nearest station to that primary station able to provide temperature information for that period shall be used to determine whether or not there is a forecasted period of cold weather at the relevant primary station.”.
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health and Social Services for Northern Ireland on
John O'Neill
Assistant Secretary
1st October 1997.