§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many social fund loan applications were refused on the grounds that claimants were unable to repay(a) in total and (b) as a percentage of applications in each year since 1990–91 by (i) district and (ii) area directorate. [29330]
§ Mr. Roger EvansThe administration of the social fund is a matter for Mr. Ian Magee, the chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member with such information as is available.
Letter from Ian Magee to Mr. Alan Milburn, dated 28 June 1995:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about Social Fund (SF) loan applications, for each year since 1990–91, which were refused on the grounds that customers were unable to repay.With the creation of the Benefits Agency in April 1991, offices were grouped into Districts. I have, therefore, provided at Annex A the information requested for the year 1990/91 by former Local 775W Office and Region. Annexes B and C provide the information by BA District and Area Directorate for the years 1991/92 and 1992/93 respectively.The new Social Fund Computer System (SFCS) introduced from February 1993 and during the course of 1993/94, collects statistics in a different way to the old system. The information provided for 1993/94 at Annex D is a combination of the old system's data, which provided the main reason for refusal against each application, and the new system which provides a reason for refusal against each individual item refused. A customer's application will usually include a number of individual items. The figures collected for 1994/95, and provided at Annex E, are for items only and it is therefore not possible for me to provide the percentage of applications refused on the grounds of a person's inability to repay. Copies of the tables have been placed in the Library.I hope you find this reply helpful.