§ 19. Mr. WoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what evidence he has of the way in which social fund officers are meeting individual need.
§ Mr. ScottSocial fund officers have met the individual needs of more than 1.5 million people since April 1988 by the payment of interest-free loans and non-repayable community care grants. Details of the purposes for which payments were made in 1988–89 are in the Secretary of State's annual report to Parliament published in July 1989.
§ 32. Mr. John EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on Government policy towards the transfer of unspent social fund allocations in social security offices from one year to the next.
§ Mr. ScottLocal office allocations are made for a financial year. Unspent balances at the end of a financial year are not available for expenditure in the following year. We have no plans to change these arrangements.
§ 36. Mr. PikeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what percentage of applications for grants and loans from the social fund rejected on original application are successful on appeal.
§ Mr. ScottBetween 1 April 1989 and 31 August 1989, nearly 26 per cent. (based on provisional figures) of applications for first review were successful. Information given to me by the social fund commissioner, shows that on second review, social fund inspectors either substituted their own decisions or referred cases back to the social fund officer in 38 per cent. (based on provisional figures) of the applications for review made to them.
§ 39. Mr. Brandon-BravoTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people received help from the social fund in its first year of operation.
§ Mr. ScottOver a million people received help from the social fund in 1988–89 through the payment of 884,000 interest-free loans and 153,000 non-repayable community care grants. Further details are in the Secretary of State's annual report to Parliament, copies of which are available in the Library.
§ Mrs. BeckettTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what information is available regarding delays in forwarding applications for review to the office of the social fund inspectors; and whether he has received any representations on this subject from social fund inspectors or the social fund commissioner.
§ Mr. ScottThe Social Fund Commissioner drew attention to such delays in her annual report. Remedial action has been taken by the Department to ensure that applications are referred promptly and this matter will be kept under review.