§ Mr. Jim CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) how many Benefits Agency managers have requested a supplementary allocation to their social fund budget; what is his Department's response; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what percentage of applicants were turned down for a grant from the social fund on a monthly basis, campaign commencing April 1992 and concluding in March 1993 both for the west midlands and nationally; what reasons were given; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ScottThe 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. Jim Cunningham, dated 17 March 1994:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions about whether Benefit Agency (BA) District Managers have asked for additional funds for their Social Fund (SF) budget, and the number of Social Fund grant refusals and the reasons for refusal in the West Midlands and nationally.I can confirm that one request was made in 1993–94 for additional funds for the SF discretionary budget. As a result of severe flooding in the Llandudno area during June 1993, an additional allocation of £155,000 for grants and £10,000 for loans was made to the North Wales Coast District.You also asked for the percentage of applicants refused a grant in 1992–93 in the West Midlands and nationally. I am unable to supply details specifically for the West Midlands area. Statistics are available by BA Territory, Area and District. I have, therefore, provided information for the BA's Area of Midlands South West which consists of the Districts of Birmingham Chamberlain, Birmingham Heartlands, Birmingham North West, Birmingham South East, Birmingham South West, Coventry, Hereford and Worcester and finally Warwickshire.Information on the SF is not kept by applicant but by application. The percentage of grant applications refused monthly for Midlands South West and nationally for the period 1 April 1922 to 31 March 1993 is given at Annex A. I must point out that the majority of Community Care Grant applications are refused 877W because the basic eligibility criteria are not met. The reasons for refusal for Midlands South West and Nationally for the same period are given at Annex B and Annex C respectively.
Annex A Percentage of community care grants (CCGs) refused in Midlands South West and nationally by month in the financial year 1992–93 Month/Year Midlands South West Nationally April 1992 76.87 70.50 May 1992 70.43 71.17 June 1992 78.12 74.22 July 1992 76.91 73.52 August 1992 78.56 73.73 September 1992 75.14 73.59
Annex B Reasons for refusal of community care grants (CCGs) by month for BA Midlands South West in the Financial year 1992–93 Reference: Month A B C D E F G H I J K L April 254 2,790 4 26 149 126 5 12 12 4 205 57 May 258 2,423 6 10 146 95 5 10 6 3 183 51 June 335 3,140 3 27 163 139 4 13 15 9 242 68 July 282 3,151 3 20 165 134 6 12 13 10 226 68 August 267 2,880 4 18 126 194 5 12 10 7 210 71 September 283 2,982 4 19 142 164 3 17 13 4 255 65 October 254 3,206 6 12 145 101 6 22 7 11 258 57 November 267 3,223 5 8 148 83 5 15 5 5 263 74 December 239 2,745 9 14 125 68 6 14 6 3 232 49 January 279 2,674 4 17 145 81 3 25 9 4 207 49 February 324 3,328 2 17 168 115 4 19 4 10 201 44 March 327 3,343 3 10 167 110 4 10 17 4 154 48
Codes A Not in receipt of Income Support (IS) G Alternative item available B Direction 4 not satisfied H Help available from another source C Applicant excluded by Direction I Savings over £500 meet cost D Requested amount below minimum allowable J Savings over £1,000 meet cost (customer or partner over 60) E Repeat application K Insufficient priority F Item excluded by Direction L Other reasons Note: Total reasons for refusal may not equal total refusals as applications may be refused for more than one reason.
Annex C Reasons for refusal of community care grants (CCGs) by month nationally for the Financial year 1992–93 Reference: Month A B C D E F G H I J K L April 5,209 50,989 475 327 2,599 1,898 106 207 129 70 5,965 1,278 May 4,711 47,647 393 270 2,326 1,815 90 230 107 92 5,679 1,178 June 5,707 56,177 403 311 2,547 2,230 147 244 150 102 7,356 1,501 July 5,692 55,782 435 317 2,820 2,312 136 260 147 118 7,770 1,501 August 4,862 48,593 371 231 2,550 2,257 125 254 140 96 6,873 1,309 September 5,331 55,299 370 306 2,735 2,536 120 286 134 99 7,818 1,367 October 5,616 58,831 530 286 2,876 2,146 135 277 140 120 8,498 1,348 November 5,793 62,268 526 311 3,036 2,058 150 279 116 129 8,524 1,436 December 4,755 48,288 376 249 2,345 1,595 99 219 112 82 6,433 1,136 January 5,022 51,165 351 273 2,596 1,960 109 258 144 104 6,193 1,246 February 5,560 60,086 496 295 2,603 2,189 131 280 126 106 6,157 1,324 March 6,416 67,053 506 274 3,038 2,385 123 308 141 101 7,127 1,640
Codes A Not in receipt of Income Support (IS) G Alternative item available B Direction 4 not satisfied H Help available from another source C Applicant excluded by Direction I Savings over £500 meet cost D Requested amount below minimum allowable J Savings over £1,000 meet cost (customer or partner over 60) E Repeat application K Insufficient priority F Item excluded by Direction L Other reasons Note: Total reasons for refusal may not equal total refusals as applications may be refused for more than one reason.
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Month/Year Midlands South West Nationally October 1992 73.44 73.97 November 1992 75.96 73.43 December 1992 86.09 79.73 January 1993 69.58 70.58 February 1993 83.17 72.23 March 1993 71.96 70.16