§ Mr. BradleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list for each district office, the total social fund budget in each month, for the last 12-month period for which figures are available, for(a) community care grants, (b) budgeting loans and (c) crisis loans; how much was left of each category by (i) November and (ii) December; and which offices (1) applied for and (2) received additional resources.
§ Mr. ScottSocial fund grant and loan budgets are allocated on an annual basis. The Secretary of State announced an £8 million increase to the social fund budget on 2 November 1992. All districts received additional resources. Details of individual district budgets and expenditure are in the Library.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State (1) what were the social fund grants and loans budgets for offices in the northern region for 1992–93; and what was the most recently available cumulative spend figure for the current year as a percentage of that total in each case;
(2) if he will list the social fund grants and loans budgets for each office in the northern region in each year since the introduction of the social fund; and if he will also list these budgets indexed against (a) the retail prices index and (b) the social fund national spends;
(3) what was the distribution of the extra social fund allocation between offices and regions in cash and percentage terms; and what this represented in each case as a percentage uplift of the base budget.
§ Mr. ScottDetails of allocations, expenditure and "real terms" expenditure, both nationally and by district and local office, are in the Library. My right hon. Friend the 361W Secretary of State announced an £8 million increase to the social fund budget on 2 November 1992. All districts have received additional resources, details of which are being placed in the Library.
§ Ms. Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of Slate for Social Security if he will list the notional tariff of income assessements on relevant capital for benefit claimants for each year since 1986; and if he will now review these arrangements following the reduction in interest rates.
§ Mr. BurtThe tariff income rule in the income-related benefits was introduced in 1988 and has not been revised. The level of income assumed from capital is calculated by ignoring the first £3,000 and taking into account £1 a week for every £250, or part of £250, between £3,000 and the upper capital limit for the particular benefit.
The formula for calculating tariff income is not linked to, nor is it meant to imply, any particular rate of return that could be secured from investment. The rule gives most help to people with the least savings.
Estimated government expenditure on certain cash benefits,1 1989–90 £ million and £ per head National insurance benefits Retirement pension Sickness and invalidity Widow's Unemployment Disablement Income support Child benefit War pensions Total benefits as slated2 £ million United Kingdom 20,558 4,208 862 765 477 8,053 4,718 641 40,281 North 1,083 323 47 61 55 510 256 39 2,376 Yorkshire and Humberside 1,803 427 73 64 54 678 414 54 3,567 East Midlands 1,374 262 56 42 29 478 337 38 2,618 East Anglia 738 80 28 22 16 176 163 20 1,243 South East 6,497 831 248 178 92 2,171 1,368 197 11,581 South West 1,915 257 67 62 26 509 360 57 3,252 West Midlands 1,715 365 77 58 49 793 449 44 3,551 North West 2,333 593 97 94 67 1,083 548 81 4,897 England 17,457 3,138 693 583 388 6,399 3,896 530 33,084 Wales 958 350 45 45 32 442 236 36 2,143 Scotland 1,689 553 92 106 43 834 406 63 3,786 Northern Ireland 453 168 32 31 14 378 180 12 1,268 £ per head3 United Kingdom 359.2 73.5 15.1 13.4 8.3 140.7 82.4 11.2 703.8 North 352.5 105.1 15.4 20.0 18.0 166.1 83.4 12.7 773.2 Yorkshire and Humberside 365.0 86.4 14.8 13.0 10.9 137.2 83.8 10.9 722.2 East Midlands 343.6 65.6 14.0 10.6 7.2 119.6 84.4 9.6 654.6 East Angiia 360.9 39.1 13.5 10.9 7.8 86.3 79.6 9.7 607.7 South East 373.7 47.8 14.3 10.2 5.3 124.9 78.7 11.3 666.2 South West 411.6 55.2 14.4 13.3 5.6 109.3 77.4 12.2 699.0 West Midlands 328.7 69.9 14.7 11.2 9.4 152.1 86.2 8.5 680.7 North West 365.6 92.9 15.3 14.8 10.5 169.8 85.9 12.7 767.5 England 366.1 65.8 14.5 12.2 8.1 134.2 81.7 11.1 693.7 Wales 333.5 121.7 15.6 15.5 11.1 153.9 82.1 12.5 745.9 Scotland 331.8 108.7 18.1 20.8 8.5 163.9 79.7 12.3 743.6 Northern Ireland 286.3 106.1 19.9 19.7 8.7 239.1 113.8 7.7 801.3 Source: Department of Social Security; Department of Social Security, Northern Ireland.
1 The quality of these estimates varies between benefits. For some of them, including retirement pension, the regional breakdown in Great Britain is based solely on population estimates. Because of changes in method, the estimates might not be entirely consistent with those published for previous years.
2 The benefits covered do not account for the total value of social security benefits paid.
3 Based on mid-1989 population estimates.