§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund applicants for(a) grants and (b) loans have been turned down in each region in each year since the social fund came into operation.
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe information that is readily available is set out in the tables.
The figures are for the number of applications that have been refused; some applicants will have made more than one application in any given year.
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Social fund applications—refusals Southern Territory Year Application Number of nil awards 1990–91 Grants 95,104 Loans 121,362 1991–92 Grants 207,478 Loans 168,874 1992–93 Grants 265,458 Loans 204,929 1993–94 Grants 283,003 Loans 215,964 1994 to October Grants 170,103 Loans 134,979
Wales and Central Territory Year Application Number of nil awards 1990–91 Grants 133,568 Loans 164,674 1991–92 Grants 270,366 Loans 214,148 1992–93 Grants 316,298 Loans 247,881 1993–94 Grants 337,620 Loans 260,557 1994 to October Grants 211,637 Loans 163,287
Scotland and Northern Territory Year Application Number of nil awards 1990–91 Grants 140,711 Loans 174,961 1991–92 Grants 257,970 Loans 231,969 1992–93 Grants 283,006 Loans 257,510 1993–94 Grants 302,330 Loans 276,582 1994 to October Grants 178,716 Loans 171,425
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund applications in each region in each year since the fund was established were turned down even though the applicant fulfilled qualifying criteria due to local budgeting restriction for(a) community care grants and (b) social fund loans.
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe information requested is not readily available prior to 1990–91. Such information as is available is set out in the tables. It is for Benefits Agency territories.
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Social Fund applications—refusals on grounds of insufficient priority Southern Territory Year Application Reason for refusal insufficient priority 1990–91 Grants 13,527 Loans 31,867 1991–92 Grants 21,352 Loans 42,353 1992–93 Grants 24,971 Loans 61,478
Wales and Central Territory Year Application Reason for refusal insufficient priority 1990–91 Grants 15,942 Loans 50,605 1991–92 Grants 28,813 Loans 62,579 1992–93 Grants 32,401 Loans 89,139
Scotland and Northern Territory Year Application Reason for refusal insufficient priority 1990–91 Grants 16,449 Loans 57,486 1991–92 Grants 29,437 Loans 81,056 1992–93 Grants 27,021 Loans 98,969 Notes:
(1) Figures for 1993–94 have not been provided. This is because information at the level requested could only be derived from a mixture of refusal data by application held under the old computer system and item level data reported by the new system. National refusal statistics by item are provided in the Secretary of State's Annual Report on the Social Fund 1993–94, a copy of which is available in the library.
(2) Statistics on reasons for refusal for the current year are only available by individual item refused. The national figures for April to October 1994 are:
- Grants: 211,770
- Loans: 1,096,649
§ Mr. CorbynTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many applications for social fund assistance have been made in each regional office area in each year
Number of applications received by each area directorate (AD) 1991 to 1994 financial years—Annex B Territory Area Type 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 Southern AD1 Anglia Loans 76,567 88,760 91,757 Grants 41,876 55,820 51,964 AD2 Chilterns Loans 75,065 93,266 101,752 Grants 39,681 48,105 50,312 AD3 South London and West Sussex Loans 93,657 108,796 111,128 Grants 40,899 48,912 53,612 AD4 West Country Loans 109,242 127,886 135,631 Grants 50,442 60,894 64,150 AD5 East London and Essex Loans 85,554 99,496 109,885 Grants 46,837 58,933 62,690 AD6 South East Loans 88,306 110,935 121,672 Grants 41,401 50,228 56,883 AD7 Wessex Loans 81,167 95,204 101,384 Grants 36,461 44,668 46,173 886W
Number of applications received by each area directorate 1991 to 1994 financial years Territory Area Type 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 Wales and Central AD1 East Midlands Loans 86,209 100,383 104,915 Grants 45,886 53,895 57,532 since the social fund came into operation in terms of (a) community care grants and (b) social fund loans.
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Michael Bichard, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Mr. Jeremy Corbyn, dated 30 November 1994:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about applications to the Social Fund (SF) for grants and loans by regional office for each year since the SF began.Since the formation of the Benefits Agency (BA) in April 1991, BA offices are grouped into Districts and these Districts are grouped into Area Directorates within three Territorial Directorates. Prior to April 1991 Departmental local offices were organised into seven regional areas.Information for the years 1988–89 and 1989–90 is not available by regional area. Details of the number of applications for grants and loans by regional area for the period April 1990 to March 1991 are provided at Annex A. Details of the number of applications for grants and loans by Area Directorate from April 1991 to March 1994 are provided at Annex B.I hope you find this information helpful.887W
Number of applications received by each regional area 1990–91—Annex A Region name Grants Loans London north 74,430 194,169 London south 58,947 178,050 Midlands 90,970 231,065 North east 111,314 303,822 North west 100,896 272,924 Scotland 122,830 308,619 Wales and south-west 69,928 199,776
Number of applications received by each area directorate 1991 to 1994 financial years Territory Area Type 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 AD2 Midlands South West Loans 91,453 99,525 95,142 Grants 52,312 59,072 59,604 AD3 West Mercia Loans 100,381 118,941 118,822 Grants 52,486 62,353 63,983 AD4 Wales Loans 123,634 139,730 141,972 Grams 64,247 75,638 81,996 AD5 Merseyside Loans 139,001 150,964 156,066 Grants 62,143 68,081 72,964 AD6 Greater Loans 111,396 128,973 135,130 Manchester Grants 54,445 61,649 64,386 AD7 Lancashire Loans 89,175 102,281 106,323 and Cumbria Grants 46,099 53,800 55,932
Number of applications received by each area directorate 1991 to 1994 financial years Territory Area Type 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 Scotland and Northern AD1 Tyne Tees Loans 147,134 153,145 160,140 Grants 76,849 83,435 87,584 AD2 South Loans 120,638 133,953 135,633 Yorkshire Grants 59,813 65,935 66,562 AD3 North and Loans 99,605 111,045 117,657 West Yorkshire Grants 48,621 58,335 62,877 AD4 Glasgow and Paisley Loans 146,928 151,623 154,914 Grants 66,716 68,317 74,739 AD5 North, Central Loans 114,691 120,823 125,576 and West Scotland Grants 57,533 60,878 63,185 AD6 East Scotland Loans 90,524 99,574 104,136 Grants 42,637 46,294 46,741