To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will list the number of applications for social fund loans in (a) Crewe and Nantwich and (b) Cheshire for each of the last five years. [36337]
The administration of the social fund is a matter for Peter Mathison, chief executive of the Benefits Agency. He will write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Peter Mathison to Mrs. Gwyneth Dunwoody, dated 15 July 1996:
The Secretary of State for Social Security has asked me to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking if he will list the number of applicants for Social Fund loans in (a) Crewe and Nantwich and (b) Cheshire for each of the last five years.
The information is not available in the format requested. With the creation of the Benefits Agency (BA) in April 1991, former departmental local offices were grouped into Districts. Statistical data for SF loans is only collected at District level, the boundaries of which are not the same. Therefore, the information is not available exclusively for Crewe, Nantwich or Cheshire.
Crewe and Nantwich form part of South Cheshire District, which also has offices at Chester, Ellesmere Port and Northwich. The attached Annex gives information for this District and also for the Districts of Sale & East Cheshire, North Cheshire, Stockport and Tameside which between them cover the rest of the Cheshire area.
I hope you find this reply helpful.
Annex: Loan applications for period 1991–92 to 1995–96
| |||||
District
| 1991–92
| 1992–93
| 1993–94
| 1994–95
| 1995–96
|
| North Cheshire | 14,511 | 17,200 | 18,725 | 20,968 | 21,526 |
| Sale and East Cheshire | 5,699 | 7,250 | 7,826 | 8,900 | 10,534 |
| South Cheshire | 17,633 | 20,215 | 21,758 | 19,913 | 19,006 |
| Stockport | 9,906 | 11,201 | 12,954 | 11,591 | 11,236 |
| Tameside | 10,085 | 12,486 | 12,618 | 13,201 | 13,041 |
Figures are provisional and subject to change. Sale and East Cheshire District has offices at Sale, Macclesfield and Wilmslow; North Cheshire District has offices at Warrington and Widnes; Stockport District has offices at Stockport and Buxton; and Tameside District has offices at Hyde and Ashton under Lyne.