§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what proportion of the Social Fund has been taken up by administration costs in each of the last five years; [51443]
(2) how much was allocated under the Social Fund in the form of (a) loans and (b) community care grants in each of the last five years in (i) Coventry and (ii) the West Midlands. [51445]
§ Mr. DenhamThe administration of the Social Fund is a matter for Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 21 July 1998:
600WThe Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking what proportion of the Social Fund (SF) has been taken up by administration costs in each of the last five years, and how much was allocated under the SF for loans and community care grants (CCGs) in each of the last five years in Coventry and the West Midlands.No proportion of the SF is taken up by administration costs. The administration of the SF scheme is an integral element of the Benefit's Agency (BA)'s overall staffing and development costs. A breakdown of those related to the SF are detailed in Annex 1. However, you may be interested to know that, from April 1999, there is provision for the introduction of a new, discrete and simplified SF Budgeting Loan scheme. This will bring tangible benefits to customers as well as the prospect of real efficiencies and reductions in administrative costs.Information on SF allocations in Coventry and the West Midlands is not available in the format requested because BA District and Area boundaries are not co-terminus with those of Local Authorities or Parliamentary constituencies. The BA's Midlands Area Directorate is made up of the Birmingham Chamberlain, Birmingham Heartlands, Birmingham North West, Birmingham North East, Birmingham South East, Birmingham South West, Coventry, Hereford and Worcester, and Warwickshire Districts. In addition, because of a reduction in the number of BA Area Directorates nationally, the Districts of Wolverhampton, Shires, Sandwell, and Walsall were added to the Midlands Area Directorate in 1996.Information on the grant and loan allocation for the Midlands Area Directorate and the Coventry district are displayed in Annex 2. Current and historical details of grant and loan allocations for all BA Districts are available in the Library.I hope that this is helpful.
Cost of administering the Social Fund for Great Britain Year Cost (£) 1992–93 1208,000.000 1993–94 2270,000.000 1994–95 209,000.000 1995–96 195,200.000 1996–97 180,000.000 11992–93 includes a £17 million investment in the Social Fund Computer System (SFCS) 21993–94 includes a £45 million investment in the successful roll out of SFCS
Budget allocation—Midlands Area Directorate Date Grants Loans 1993–94 4,794,143 12,349,870 1994–95 4,891,466 12,600,509 1995–96 4,891,466 15,519,029 1996–97 7,944,138 25,710,886 1997–98 7,944,138 28,896,070 1998–99 8,031,997 31,912,071 Notes:
1. Five BA Districts were added to the Midlands Area Directorate in 1996–97
2. The Community Care Grants Budget was increased by one million pounds nationally for 1998–99
Budget allocation—Coventry District Date Grants Loans 1993–94 673,671 1,810,773 1994–95 687,347 1,847,495 1995–96 687,347 2,171,962 1996–97 687,347 2,321,744 1997–98 687,347 2,684,795 1998–99 694,949 3,014,815
§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what assessment she has made of the levels of fraud in applications to the Social Fund; and what measures are proposed to eliminate fraud. [51444]
§ Mr. FieldTackling fraud and abuse is a top priority for the Government and part of the Government's intention to deliver a first class "pukka" service. The Social Security Act 1998 contains measures that will enable discretionary Social Fund payments obtained through misrepresentation or failure to disclose a material fact to be recovered by deductions from prescribed benefits. This legislative change, which will be introduced later this year, will close a loophole that has allowed some people to benefit from fraud.
Assessment of the levels of fraud in Social Fund applications is the responsibility of Peter Mathison, the Chief Executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to my hon. Friend.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mr. Jim Cunningham, dated 21 July 1998:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what assessment she has made of the levels of fraud in applications to the Social Fund (SF); and what measures are proposed to eliminate fraud.The Benefits Agency (BA)'s Benefit Review Programme aims to measure how much benefit is being paid incorrectly (including fraud) and establish causes of incorrect payments. So far Benefit Reviews have been carried out on Income Support, Unemployment Benefit, Housing Benefit, Retirement Pension, Invalid Care 601W Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Child Benefit, but not on the SF. Therefore, no formal assessment has been made of the level of fraud in SF applications.During 1995, as part of the risk management work carried out by the BA, an exercise was undertaken on known weaknesses within the SF processes, both IT and clerical. This resulted in the formation of a Security Action Plan for SF, which seeks to address these risks and take account of any new ones that come to light. The plan has been reviewed regularly up to November 1997 and has resulted in several risks and weaknesses being removed.The Government takes fraud against the Social Security system very seriously. The Green Paper Beating Fraud is Everyone's Business: Securing the Future, published by the Secretary of State on 13 July 1998, set out a comprehensive approach to tackling fraud, and as part of our work to deliver it we are looking at our future work programme, including Benefit Reviews, which help inform our knowledge on the nature and scale of fraud and incorrectness.I hope that this is helpful.
§ Mr. HepburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security when she will publish her annual report on The Social Fund for 1997–98 and the Social Fund Commissioner's annual report; and if she will make a statement. [52142]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Secretary of State's annual report on the Social Fund for 1997–98 (CM4003) was published today and has been laid before Parliament.
The report records that total gross expenditure in 1997–98 was £520.5 million. This included almost two million non-repayable grants and interest free loans worth £462 million and 48 thousand funeral payments, 197 thousand maternity payments and 55 thousand cold weather payments worth a total of £58.6 million. In addition, seven million pensioner households received winter fuel payments worth nearly £200 million.
The report also looks ahead to the changes contained in the Social Security Act 1998 which support our aim of an active modern service. These include the introduction, in 1999, of a fact-based budgeting loan scheme that will be simpler, fairer, easier for applicants to understand and 602W quicker for staff to operate. Decisions under the simplified scheme will be more transparent as they will be based on a common set of specified personal circumstances.
The Social Fund Commissioner's annual report has also been published today and copies placed in the Library.