§ 29. Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement about the refusal of loans to claimants without sufficient income by social fund officers.
§ Mr. ScottThe percentage of people whose applications for a social fund loan have been refused because of inability to repay is very low—1.2 per cent. of the decisions in the year 1989–90 to date. We do not consider that it would be helpful to allow people in these circumstances to put themselves further into debt. Money advice is offered in these cases.
§ 41. Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how the additional social fund allocations to individual local offices for 1989–90 were calculated.
§ Mr. ScottI refer the hon. Member to my reply to the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Battle) on 31 January 1990 at columns194–95.
§ 46. Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is his estimate of social fund expenditure for 1990–91 by(a) grants and (b) loans for London offices and the amount spent in the last full year for which single payments were applied.
§ Mr. ScottAllocations to individual local offices are being considered and will be announced in due course. Details of single payment expenditure for 1987–88 are available in the Library.
§ Mr. McFallTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the cash limit for social fund loans and grants from his Department's offices in Scotland for 1989–90 and the amount expended by 1 January in the current year.
§ Mr. ScottInformation about the national and regional social fund budget allocations for loans and grants and monthly levels of expenditure by region and local office is available in the Library.