Social Fund and Social Fund Commissioner (Annual Reports)

Thursday 12th July 2012 Written Statements

[The Minister of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Steve Webb)]

The Secretary of State’s annual report on the social fund for 2011-12 is to be laid before Parliament and published later today.

The report records that total gross expenditure in 2011-12, excluding winter fuel payments, was over £940 million. This figure includes over 216,000 non-repayable community care grants and almost 3.2 million interest-free loans awarded worth over £581 million. Also, cold weather payments worth £129 million, funeral payments worth £46 million and Sure Start maternity grants worth £45 million, were paid.

In addition over 9 million households benefited from a winter fuel payment at an estimated cost of around £2.1 billion.

The Social Fund Commissioner’s report will also be published later today, and I will place a copy of this report in the House Library.