HC Deb 23 July 2002 vol 389 c1034W
Mr. Willetts

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the(a) annual report on the social fund 2001–02 and (b) Social Fund Commissioner's annual report on the standard of social fund inspectors' decisions will be published. [72421]

Malcolm Wicks

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State's annual report on the social fund for 2001–02 (CM 5492) was published today and has been laid before Parliament.

The report records that gross expenditure, excluding winter fuel payments, in 2001–02 was £761.8 million. Together with expenditure on winter fuel payments of around £1.7 billion, this resulted in total gross expenditure of almost £2.5 billion. The discretionary social fund helped more people than ever before with around 2.5 million awards made. This included more than 233,000 non-repayable grants and more than 2,231,000 interest-free loans together worth £646.9 million. 42,000 funeral and 1.8 million cold weather payments totalling £53.7 million were made. More than 11 million people aged 60 or over in eight million households benefited from a winter fuel payment. In addition, 201,000 sure start maternity grants worth £61.2 million were made.

The Social Fund Commissioner's report has also been published today and copies placed in the Library.