§ Mr. Robin CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what research his Department has
224Wcopies may be consulted at the British Library. Microfiche copies may be purchased from Messrs. Chadwyck-Healley of Cambridge.
§ Mr. Frank FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will publish national and regional figures on the take-up to date of community care grants and crisis loans from the social fund; if he will state for each region and the nation as a whole what percentage of the annual budgeted totals for community care grants and crisis loans these payments represent, for each region and the nation as a whole and what percentage of the total monthly budgets for community care grants and crisis loans to date these payments represent; and if he will place these figures in the Library on a monthly basis from the present time.
§ Mr. Peter Lloyd[holding answer 4 November 1988]: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, North (Mr. Howell) today.
From now on we shall be making available national summary tables of social fund data which will be updated monthly. There is not a separate budget for crisis loans; however the tables show expenditure separately for both budgeting loans and crisis loans from which it is possible to calculate total loans expenditure as a percentage of the annual loans budget. Expenditure nationally as a percentage of national monthly profiled expenditure can be calculated by reference to the national profile of expenditure held in the Library. We do not propose to publish aggregated data for the seven social security administrative regions; however details of the allocations to, and expenditure by, individual local offices, listed by region, are in the Library.