§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications in the last year were made for assistance with the social fund; how many and what percentage were turned down; of those turned down, how many applied for review by the social fund officer; how many were accepted; how many and what percentage were rejected; of those rejected, how many were reviewed by an HEO (SF); how many were accepted; how many and what percentage were rejected; of those rejected, how many were sent for review by a social fund inspector; how many were accepted; how many and what percentage rejected; and what were the equivalent figures for the previous three years.
§ Mr. ScottThe information requested is provided in the tables. The information in table II has been provided by the social fund commissioner and is as published in her annual reports to the Secretary of State. Information for 1987–88 is not available since the social fund did not commence operation until April 1988.
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Table I SFO and HEO(SF) reviews 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 (a) Number of applications to Social Fund 1,749,000 2,299,000 2,317,000 (b) Number of applications refused 521,000 (30 per cent.) 779,000 (34 per cent.) 895,000 (39 per cent.) SFO reviews (c) Number of applications1 for review as percentage of refusals 61,425 (12 per cent.) 96,584 (12 per cent.) 115,636 (13 per cent.) (d) Number of reviews—decision revised 20,260 22,230 25,837 (e) Number of reviews—decision confirmed 33,494 (55 per cent.) 60,402 (63 per cent.) 70,827 (61 per cent.) HEO(SF) reviews (f) Number of applications1 2 for review as percentage of (e) 33,494 (100 per cent.) 60,402 (100 per cent.) 70,827 (100 per cent.) (g) Number of reviews—decision revised 4,846 12,684 18,211
SFO and HEO(SF) reviews 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 (h) Number of reviews—decision confirmed 23,535 (70 per cent.) 45,726 (76 per cent.) 52,645 (74 per cent.)
Table II SFI review 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 (a) Number of applications3 for SFI review 2,954 7,858 9,775 (b) Number of decisions3 4 made by SFIs 2,499 6,238 9,383 (c) Number of decisions revised5 1,205 48 per cent. 4,278 69 per cent. 7,689 82 per cent. (d) Number of decisions confirmed 1,294 52 per cent. 1,960 31 per cent. 1,694 18 per cent. 1 The difference between the sum of "decisions revised" plus "decisions confirmed" and the number of applications received, is attributable partly to applications being withdrawn by the applicant and partly to applications which have been made, but have not been decided in the statistical period. 2 All applications for an SFO review that are not revised have been automatically counted as an application for HEO(SF) review, as it is not possible to identify whether review applications are withdrawn at this stage. 3 The difference between the number of applications and the total number of decisions is attributable to a combination of different factors; applications which have been made but not decided in the statistical period; applications not being within the jurisdiction of the Office of the Social Fund Inspector; and applications not being within the time, form or manner laid down by regulations. 4 The method of counting decisions changed in April 1990–91. Whilst each review application received counted as one case, the number of decisions reviewed by SFIs were analysed by type (award, refusals, etc.). It is possible therefore, that a case can result in more than one decision. 5 Includes decisions made by the SFI to substitute his own decision or to refer the application back to the HEO(SF) for redetermination.