§ Mr. Nigel EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he plans to make a further allocation of funds to the discretionary social fund budget in the current financial year. [3773]
§ Mr. MossI am very pleased to announce that the Northern Ireland social fund discretionary budget for 1995–96 will be increased by a total of £1.5 million as a result of better than expected loan recoveries by the Social Security Agency. This will increase the original allocation to a total of £33.34 million.
This increase in the social fund budget will ensure that more people receive help and that the fund continues to play an important role in targeting resources on those most in need.
Details of the revised budget have been placed in the Library.