§
Mr. Roger Evans
The 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 with such information as is available.
Letter from Michael Bichard to Dr. Norman Godman, dated 21 February 1995The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Questions asking for details of expenditure since 1988/89 on the Social Fund (SF) for the district offices in Greenock and Port Glasgow, the Lothian Central district office and for Scotland; also for information since 1988/89 on the total returns in the SF budget for those offices.
With the advent of the Benefits Agency in April 1991, the former local offices of the Department were grouped into Districts. The Greenock and Port Glasgow offices formed Clye Coast & Cowal District, with the Edinburgh City and Edinburgh North offices forming Lothian Central District.
The information requested is not available for the years 1988/89 and 1989/90. I have provided, at Annex A, SF expenditure for the year 1990/91 by local office; for the years 1991/1992 to 1993/94 information is provided at District level and for the whole of Scotland for the period 1990/91 to 1993/94.
Expenditure on grants for Scotland for the year 1991/92 was less than that for the year 1990/91. This is because, in September 1990, offices received an in-year allocation of funds to help them meet costs resulting from a High Court judgement. Following amended legislation there was no reflection of the High Court judgement in the allocation for the 1991/92 financial year.
I have provided at Annex B information in respect of loan recovery for the year 1990/91 at local office level and at District level for 1992/93 to 1993/94.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
| Annex A: Expenditure for the year 1990–91 for Local Offices Edinburgh City, Edinburgh North, Greenock and Port Glasgow |
| Year |
Local office |
Type |
Expenditure £ |
| 1990–91 |
Edinburgh City |
Grants |
337,824.00 |
|
|
Loans |
578,464.82 |
|
Edinburgh North |
Grants |
173,655.00 |
|
|
Loans |
492.790.00 |
|
Greenock |
Grants |
321,907.45 |
|
|
Loans |
785,627.34 |
|
Port Glasgow |
Grants |
174,583.99 |
|
|
Loans |
415,487.98 |
| Expenditure for the years 1991–92 to 1993–94 for benefits agency districts of Clyde Coast and Cowal and Lothian Central |
| Year |
District |
Type |
Expenditure £ |
| 1991–92 |
Clyde Coast and Cowal |
Grants |
493,975.05 |
|
|
Loans |
1,228,805.08 |
|
Lothian Central |
Grants |
456,009.00 |
|
|
Loans |
1,092,362.99 |
| 1992–93 |
Clyde Coast and Cowal |
Grants |
518,682.69 |
|
|
Loans |
1,337,320.81 |
|
Lothian Central |
Grants |
486,047.00 |
|
|
Loans |
1,201,102.00 |
247W
| Expenditure for the years 1991–92 to 1993–94 for benefits agency districts of Clyde Coast and Cowal and Lothian Central |
| Year |
District |
Type |
Expenditure £ |
| 1993–94 |
Clyde Coast and Cowal |
Grants |
544,618.13 |
|
|
Loans |
1,404,186.95 |
|
Lothian Central |
Grants |
502,749.00 |
|
|
Loans |
1,269,565.00 |
| Expenditure for the years 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93 and 1993–94 for the whole of Scotland |
| Year |
Type |
Expenditure (£) |
| 1990–91 |
Grants |
13,883,235.58 |
|
Loans |
31,265,101.53 |
| 1991–92 |
Grants |
13,102,422.85 |
|
Loans |
32,571,933.75 |
| 1992–93 |
Grants |
13,981,015.30 |
|
Loans |
35,250,252.65 |
| 1993–94 |
Grants |
14,629,296.24 |
|
Loans |
37,215,640.22 |
| Annex B: Loan recovery data by office 1990–91 and district 1991–92 to 1993–94 |
| Year |
District £ |
Recovery £ |
| 1990–91 |
Edinburgh City |
392,637.19 |
|
Edinburgh North |
403,199.63 |
|
Greenock |
594,882.44 |
|
Port Glasgow |
306,772.61 |
| 1991–92 |
Clyde Coast and Cowal |
1,037,612.72 |
|
Lothian Central |
897,890.74 |
| 1992–93 |
Clyde Coast and Cowal |
1,086,162.59 |
|
Lothian Central |
1,003,600.49 |
| 1993–94 |
Clyde Coast and Cowal |
1,247,536.72 |
|
Lothian Central |
1,058,299.28 |