§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund decisions in England went to review in each of the first five months of 1991.
§ Mr. ScottThe information requested is in the table.
Number of applications for review by social fund officers1 January 1991 6,961 February 1991 7,656 March 1991 8,189 April 1991 8,730 May 1991 9,399 1 All applications for review are made in the first instance to SFOs.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) why the standard letter, DL/SF14, sent to applicants whose application for review of a social fund officer's decision has been rejected, no longer informs them that they can ask for a social fund inspector to decide whether the decision to reject the application was correct;
(2) why his guidance to social fund officers, in paragraph 4156 of the social fund manual, was amended to exclude the reference to payment of a crisis loan by means of a voucher.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many social fund decisions in Newham went to review in each of the first five months of 1991;
(2) how many applications for social fund loans were refused in Newham in 1990 on the grounds of inability to repay the loans;
(3) how many applications there were in Newham for review by the social fund inspector in each of the first five months of 1991;
(4) what is the current average clearance time for crisis loan applications in Newham.
(5) how many applications in Newham reviewed by the social fund inspector resulted in changes in the first five months of 1991;
(6) how many social fund decisions were changed on review in Newham in each of the first five months of 1991.
§ Mr. ScottThe administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the 849W Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Members and copies will be placed in the Library and the Public Information Office.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications there were in England for review by the social fund inspector in each of the first five months of 1991; and how many of these applications resulted in changed decisions.
§ Mr. ScottThe information requested is shown in the table.
applications for SFI review revised decisions by SFI January 1991 701 153 February 1991 617 142 March 1991 661 151 April 1991 701 139 May 1991 761 188 Also, 2,495 cases in Great Britain were referred back for redetermination by a Social Fund Officer between January and May 1991. However information about the proportion of those cases which resulted in a revised decision will not become available until the end of 1991–92.
§ Mr. Tony BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund decisions were changed on review in England in each of the first five months of 1991.
§ Mr. ScottThe information requested is in the table.
Number of decisions changed on review January 1991 3,700 February 1991 3,654 March 1991 4,417 April 1991 4,076 May 1991 4,458 The number of decisions changed on review covers those revised both by social fund officers and by social fund inspectors.