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Dept of Social Security

Answer

Ms Lynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what proportion of applicants to the social fund for community grants or crisis loans are refused. [6935] Mr. Andrew Mitchell: Information on the number of awards and refusals from the discretionary social fund for 1994-95 is contained in the latest Secretary of State's annual report on the social fund, a copy of which is in the Library. Community care grants may be awarded in a wide range of defined circumstances. These include assisting people who are leaving residential or institutional care to re-establish themselves in the community; helping people stay in the community rather than enter care; easing exceptional pressure on families; helping with certain travelling costs; and assisting people who are caring for prisoners who are released on temporary licence. The majority of refusals were because the applicant did not satisfy the basic eligibility criteria. However, 54 per cent. of those refused a community care grant in the current year were awarded a repayable budgeting loan. The information requested for the year to date (April to November) is in the table: _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Year: April- November 1995 Applications received Refusals (thousands) Refusals as a percentage of (thousands) applications Community care grants 853 655 77 Crisis loans 749 160 21 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1. The number of refusals overturned on review are not included. 2. Percentages obtained from rounded figures.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

6935; 269 c169W

Session

1995-96

Subjects

Disqualification Social security benefits Social Fund Crisis loans

Contains statistics

Yes