§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many requests for a review of social fund decisions have been turned down in the current financial year on the grounds that the letter of authority was a photocopy; and if she will made a statement. [33340]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information is not available in the format requested. In 1997–98, April 1997 to the end of January 1998, 3,445 requests for review of social fund decisions were refused because they were not made in the correct time, form and manner specified by the400W regulations. The number of review applications refused represent 1 per cent. of all applications for a review of social fund decisions conducted in the Benefits Agency.
Applications for review are not normally refused on the grounds that the letter of authority was a photocopy.
The Social Fund (Application for Review) Regulations 1988 specify the time, form and manner in which applications for review are to be made. The regulations provide that an application for review must be made in writing, giving specific grounds on which it is made and must be signed by the applicant. Where the application for review is made on behalf of the applicant by someone who is not the applicant's appointee, the applicant must give written consent to the application being made on his or her behalf.