HC Deb 14 December 1988 vol 143 cc591-2W
Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security, for Durham Department of Social Security office since April in all cases, what was(a) the total budget and (b) the amount spent to date for (i) budgeting and crisis loans and (ii) community care grants expressing (b) as a proportion of (a) in each case; (c) what was the average (i) budgeting loan, (ii) crisis loan, (iii) community care grant, (iv) maternity payment and (v) funeral payment paid out; (d) how many people have been refused (i) a loan, (ii) a community care grant and (iii) both; (e) how many people were refused a loan more than once in a one month period; (f) how many applications were refused under the 26-week rule; and (g) how many people were refused extention loans on the grounds of their existing commitments.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Information on numbers of applications for social fund loans and grants processed and awarded, listed by local office, including information on budget allocations and expenditure, is available from the details held in the Library.

A statutory amount of £85 is available in respect of maternity payments. However, any capital held by the applicant in excess of £500 is taken into account on a pound-for-pound basis. In the period from April to November 1988 the average amounts paid out from the social fund in the Durham office in respect of funeral payments was £310.44.

In the period from April to November 1988 a total of 129 applicants were refused awards on the grounds that they had either not been in receipt of income support for 26 weeks or that they had previously applied for the same item or service in the preceding 26 weeks and their circumstances had remained unchanged.

Information on the number of applicants refused a loan more than once in the one month period or the number of applicants refused a second or subsequent loan on the grounds of existing commitments is not available.

Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give for(a) Durham local office area and (b) England (i) the number of claimants who have experienced, or will experience real reductions in income as a result of the changes made to diet and heating allowances in April and (ii) the amount saved by this means.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Estimates of the information required could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will give the average benefit paid to disabled claimants at Durham local office for the periods(a) 4-10 April and (b) 11-17 April, excluding transitional protection.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

I regret that this information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.