§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what his assessment is of(a) the incidence of fraud in Social Fund applications and (b) the cost of such fraud in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [51045]
(2) how many applications for Social Fund payment have been investigated as a result of suspected fraud in each year since 1997; how many of them have resulted in (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions; and if he will break down the figures by the sentences imposed in cases which resulted in convictions. [51046]
§ Malcolm Wicks[holding answer 18 April 2002]: The information requested is not available.
§ Mr. ClappisonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the understanding of Social Fund applicants of (i) the conditions of eligibility for each of the Social Fund payments and (ii) the basis on which decisions are taken relating to their Social Fund payments. [51047]
714W1998, (b) May 1998 to April 1999, (c) May 1999 to April 2000, (d) May 2000 to April 2001 and (e) May 2001 to the latest date, indicating in each case the values of the contracts and the companies with which the contracts were placed. [38725]
§ Mr. Nicholas Brown[holding answer 28 February 2002]: The Department for Work and Pensions was formed in June 2001. The information requested on contracts let by the ex-Employment Service and ex-Department of Social Security is not held centrally in the new Department and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The Department for Work and Pensions lets a large number of contracts in a year, most of which are for low value purchases let by distributed units. The cost of collecting and analysing information on centrally let deals since the department was formed is provided in the table. The table includes a range of commercial deals including framework agreements under which individual contracts can be let at set terms, conditions and prices. Contract value are not provided because of commercial confidentiality.
§ Malcolm WicksIn 1999–2000 research was commissioned from the Personal Finance Research Centre at the university of Bristol which explored customers' views of the application process for the new Social Fund budgeting loan scheme introduced in April 1999. The research report was published' in the autumn of 2000 and confirmed that the sample of users welcomed the new budgeting loan scheme for its easier access and quicker decisions.
1Whyley, Claire, Collard, Sharon and Kempson, Elaine, Saving and Borrowing: Use of the Social Fund Budgeting Loan Scheme and Community Credit Unions. Department of Social Security, research report no. 125, 2000.