§ Mr. PatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how much the Government have spent on social fund loans and community grants; how many people have been refused help by the social fund from its inception to date; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ScottInformation relating to 1988–89 is contained in the Secretary of State's annual report to Parliament.
Information for the current year is available from the national summary statistics which are placed in the Library monthly. The latest month for which information is available is September 1989.
§ Mr. PatchettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what action he is proposing to take about the340W administration of the social fund following the report by the Social Fund Commission for 1988–89; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ScottThe Social Fund Commissioner's first annual report, which was published in July, discharged her responsibility to report annually on the standard of reviews by social fund inspectors. I was pleased to note that 90 per cent, of the decisions monitored "met fully or exceeded the required standard" and that of the remainder very few "were found to be fundamentally flawed". I agree fully with the Commissioner's conclusion that the results of her monitoring will encourage public confidence in the review system.
The Commissioner also made a number of recommendations to the Department. These are all issues on which the Department's views have been made known to the Commissioner, or on which the Department has already taken action. I understand that the Commissioner's next annual report will refer to this year's recommendations and the Department's response to them.