HC Deb 15 February 1989 vol 147 cc235-6W
Mr. Kennedy

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if, following the recent flooding damage in the Scottish Highlands he will(a) now introduce emergency regulations to widen the criteria for eligibility to grants or loans under the current social fund allocation at Inverness Department of Social Security and (b) increase the size of the Inverness Department of Social Security's current social fund allocation; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Social fund crisis loans are available to help people meet costs arising from an emergency or disaster where no other help is immediately available. It is not a requirement that the applicant has to be on income support. Budgeting loans and community care grants may also be available in certain circumstances. The manager of the Department's Inverness office has been in touch with

Code Client group
12 Others with family premium
13 Others without family premium
15 Applicants not receiving Income Support

Mr. Madden

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will update the information on loans for special needs under the social fund and comparable figures for single and urgent needs payments contained in his reply to the hon. Member for Great Grimsby (Mr. Mitchell),Official Report,18 July 1988, columns 484–86.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

The information on single and urgent needs payments for the period 1 July 1987 to 8 April 1988 is given in the table. Information on social fund loans for the period from 1 July 1988 may be obtained from the information in the Library.

the local authority and local police throughout the emergency and has arranged local radio and press publicity about the help available from the social fund. As at 13 February one application for a crisis loan had been made as a result of the flooding. A loan was offered, but the applicant subsequently refused to take it up. There have also been three applications for community care grants, one of which has been awarded, and the other two are under consideration. There is no indication that the office's social fund budget allocation for the current year will be insufficient and we have at present no plans to increase it nor to extend the eligibility criteria.