HC Deb 22 November 1977 vol 939 cc678-9W
Mr. Ashley

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) if he will list the total of grants paid, and the total cost of administration, of the Family Fund in each year of its operation;

(2) how much money has been paid out in grants by the Family Fund in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available;

(3) if he will list the cumulative mean size of grant to families of handicapped children by the Family Fund in each month since February 1976, the rate of increase in size of grant each month and the number of first payments to families;

(4) how many families containing handicapped children have now been helped by the Family Fund; what has

April 1973–30th September 1974 1st October 1974–30th September 1975 1st October 1975–30th September 1976 1st October 1976–30th September 1977
Total number of grants paid 14,389 20,675 16,576 17,427
Total cost of administration £132,715 £194,739 £162,544 £238,897
Money paid out in grants £2,225,265 £3,513,306 £2,153,321 £2,204,274

Month Cumulative mean size of grant Rate of increase in size of grant Number of first payments Money paid out in grants
£ Per cent. £
February 1976 290 635
March 1976 291 0.34 702
April 1976 292 0.34 572
May 1976 292 550
June 1976 294 0.68 588
July 1976 294 0.68 539
August 1976 295 0.34 514
September 1976 296 0.34 507
October 1976 296 0.34 537 156,176
November 1976 297 0.34 438 152,446
December 1976 297 0.34 379 118,613
January 1977 296 0.34 437 135,889
February 1977 298 0.67 555 223,663
March 1977 300 0.67 452 179,497
April 1977 301 0.33 363 154,797
May 1977 305 1.33 500 270,135
June 1977 309 1.31 435 261,388
July 1977 312 0.97 418 196,888
August 1977 313 0.32 436 167,702
September 1977 315 0.64 410 201,487

The cumulative mean grant is the mean total amount paid to each family helped by the Family Fund.

Between April 1973 and 30th September 1977 the number of families helped by the Family Fund was 31,611 and a total of 69,067 payments were made at a cost of £10,096,166. The average value of payments was £146.18. As the statistics do not differentiate between the total spent on first and subsequent payments, however, and as first payments are usually larger than subsequent ones, neither the total number of payments nor the average payment can be regarded as a significant indicator.