§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment he made of the regional variations in the cost of a(a) new grave and (b) funeral in making his decision about funeral payments under the social fund.
§ Mr. Roger EvansWe took account of a range of factors, including regional variations in costs, before making our proposals. These are now with the social security advisory committee. We expect to receive its report shortly.
§ Mr. David ShawTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security whether he will make a further allocation of funds to the discretionary social fund budget.
§ Mr. Roger EvansI am pleased to announce that due to further improvements in the recovery of social fund loans we have been able to make another additional736W allocation in the current financial year. A total of £2 million in equal amounts of £100,000 is to be made available to the Benefits Agency's area directorates on 16 February 1995. This is on top of the £13 million in additional allocations we were able to make in November 1994.
The whole of the additional allocation will be devoted to social fund loans. We believe that social fund loans offer excellent value for money. They enable us to target available resources on those in most need and to recycle funds to help more applicants.
Since the scheme started, we have been able to make nearly £1.3 billion worth of loans for an outlay of only £286 million. This expansion of the social fund loans budget will ensure that more people receive help and that the fund continues to play a valuable role in complementing mainstream social security provision.
Details of individual district allocations have been placed in the Library.