§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will make a statement on the policies governing advice for social fund applications undertaken by the Benefits Agency. [3352]
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§ Mr. Roger EvansSection 140 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 requires that
A social fund officer shall determine any question in accordance with any general directions issued by the Secretary of State and in determining any question shall take account of any general guidance issued by him.That guidance is contained in the social fund guide and is intended to explain the basis for social fund officers' powers to determine applications to the discretionary social fund and to help them interpret the Secretary of State's directions in a consistent and flexible way.
Section 140 also requires social fund officers to take account of any guidance issued by the social fund officer nominated for his area under section 64 of the Administration Act 1992. This local guidance concerns the level of priority of applications which can be met from the district budget.