§ Mr. WellsTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when he intends to publish his annual report on the social fund; and when he will publish the social fund commissioner's annual report.
§ Mr. ScottThe Secretary of State's annual report (Cm 1992) has been published today and I have laid it before Parliament. This report records that in 1991–92 more than 1.5 million discretionary payments amounting to £276 million were made from the fund; and that the total paid out from the fund, including the regulated maternity, funeral and cold weather payments was £361 million.
The social fund commissioner's annual report has also been published today and copies placed in the Library.
The findings of research on the social fund which we commissioned from the social policy research unit at the University of York have also been published today. This research—based on two years of fieldwork carried out in 1990 and 1991—provides a considerable amount of information and will require careful study.
The research unit acknowledges that the social fund budget is a small, but important, part of social security spending. It represents around 0.5 per cent. of the total DSS budget, now approaching £70 billion a year. The fund's discretionary budget alone has been increased to £302 million for 1992–93, an increase of 32 per cent. from April 1991.
I am pleased to note that the findings confirm the message of the Secretary of State's annual report that the fund has provided cash assistance for exceptional needs to millions of people; and also recognise the excellent job being performed by social fund officers.