Corporate report

Social Fund annual report 2019 to 2020

Published 24 June 2021

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

Presented to Parliament pursuant to section 167(6) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992

June 2021

978-1-5286-2204-2

Unnumbered act paper.

Preface

This is the 32nd annual report to Parliament on the operation of the Social Fund for Great Britain, covering the 2019 to 2020 reporting year. The Social Fund Annual Report is a routine performance report that is usually published as soon as possible after the end of the reporting year in March.

The Social Fund is a regulated scheme made up of Maternity Grants, Funeral Expenses Payments, Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payments, and a discretionary scheme of Budgeting Loans.

These payments provide vital financial support for people in need by helping people and families on low income with certain one-off or occasional expenses as well as providing a source of affordable credit for the financially excluded.

During the 2019 to 2020 reporting year, the Social Fund provided payments of just over £456.5 million.

Winter Fuel Payments continued to offer vital support to older people, with an additional £2 billion provided to help them meet their heating costs.

The rationalisation of the Social Fund processing across the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) estate continued throughout the 2019 to 2020 reporting year. The end result is improvements to the business processes that will improve the performance and efficiencies of the benefit delivery going forward.

The investment in changes throughout 2019 to 2020 enabled Social Fund to rise to the challenges that COVID-19 brought about from March 2020 onwards. Getting processes in place ensured that significant performance improvements were achieved at the beginning of the current performance year without a reduction in quality.

The Rt. Hon Thérèse Coffey Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

1. Introduction

1.1. This is the 32nd annual report to Parliament on the operation of the Social Fund for Great Britain required to be laid by sections 167(5) and (6) of the Social Security Administration Act 1992.^{[footnote 1]}

1.2. The Social Fund scheme includes a regulated scheme made up of Maternity Grants and Funeral Expenses Payments, Cold Weather and Winter Fuel Payments, and a discretionary scheme comprised of Budgeting Loans.

Source of data for this report

1.3. The figures in this report, unless stated otherwise, are taken from the DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System, Social Fund White Paper Account and from scans of the Social Fund Computer System. Together these data sources record details of every individual application, subsequent payment decision and any outstanding repayment record. They also provide useful comparative data such as average awards, what needs are covered and how various client groups are using the fund. These comparisons are shown in the annexes to this report.

2. The Regulated Social Fund

Sure Start Maternity Grants

2.1. The Sure Start Maternity Grant (SSMG) is a payment of £500 to provide important help for families with the costs of a new baby (or babies in the event of a multiple birth) if there are no other children under 16 in the claimant’s family. The grant is available to recipients, and partners of recipients, of a qualifying benefit or tax credit. For claims in 2019 to 2020 these were: Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit, or Working Tax Credit (which includes a disability or a severe disability element). It is also possible to qualify if in receipt of a Support for Mortgage Interest Loan.

2.2. SSMG is also available for the additional children of subsequent multiple births, in recognition that help with costs is needed. In these cases, a SSMG can be paid for all but one of the additional children of a subsequent multiple birth. An example, would be where the birth of twins follows a previous single birth, a SSMG can now be paid to help with costs of the additional child. In some instances, other children can be disregarded if the claimant has a formal or informal caring arrangement for them before the birth of their first child.

2.3. On 10 December 2018 responsibility for SSMG for claimants living in Scotland was devolved to the Scottish Government who introduced the Best Start Grant. SSMG statistics report on Great Britain up to and including 9 December 2018 and England and Wales thereafter. The 2019 to 2020 reporting year was the first full year that performance only referred to England and Wales.

2.4. In 2019 to 2020 over 51,000 SSMG awards were made worth £25.1 million. SSMG statistics are in Annex 1.

Funeral Expenses Payments

2.5. The Funeral Expenses Payment (FEP) scheme provides help towards the cost of a funeral. Payments and are made to the person responsible for funeral costs who is in receipt of (or whose partner is in receipt of) a qualifying benefit or tax credit. In 2019 to 2020 the qualifying benefits and tax credits were the same as those listed above for SSMG, but with the addition of Housing Benefit. Any payments made by DWP towards funeral costs are recoverable from the estate of the deceased if there are sufficient funds.

2.6. On 16 September 2019 responsibility for FEP for claimants living in Scotland was devolved to the Scottish Government who introduced Funeral Support Payment. FEP statistics report on Great Britain up to and including 15 September 2019 and England and Wales thereafter.

2.7. In 2019 to 2020, around 22,000 FEP awards were made worth £34 million.

2.8. The DWP’s Bereavement Service continues to take telephone applications for Funeral Expenses Payments as part of a wider service to people reporting a death to the DWP. Funeral Expenses Payment claims can also be made by post, including by using a claim form that can be downloaded from the GOV.UK website.

Cold Weather Payments

2.9. Cold Weather Payments provide help with additional costs of heating during periods of severely cold weather. The cold weather season runs from 1 November to 31 March. Every residential postcode in Great Britain is linked to one of the weather stations used in the scheme. A payment is made to someone when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0ºC or below over 7 consecutive days at the weather station linked to their postcode.

2.10. In 2019 to 2020 eligible recipients of a Cold Weather Payment are:

Benefit in payment	Qualifying conditions for a Cold Weather Payment
Pension Credit	Entitled to Cold Weather Payment (CWP).
Income Support (IS)	Entitled to a CWP if they receive a disability premium, a severe disability premium, any one of the pensioner premiums, a child disability premium within IS or Child Tax Credit (CTC) or they have a child under 5 years.
Income based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA(IB))	Entitled to a CWP if they receive a disability premium, a severe disability premium, any one of the pensioner premiums, a child disability premium within JSA(IB) or CTC or they have child under 5 years.
Income-related Employment Support Allowance	Entitled to a CWP if they receive the support component, the work-related activity component, a severe or enhanced disability premium, pensioner premium, or have a child who is disabled for whom they receive a disability premium within CTC or have a child under 5 years.
Universal Credit	Entitled to a CWP under Universal Credit if they are: - not employed or self-employed; and - they, or their partner, receive a limited capability for work element (with or without a work-related activity element); or - they receive the disabled child element within their assessment; or - have a child under 5 years Universal Credit recipients who are employed or self-employed will only be eligible for CWPs if they have a disabled child or eligible young person in the family.

2.11. Representations from Members of Parliament and customer representative groups regarding postcode-to-weather stations links are put to the Met Office for advice. The Met Office is asked to consider if the postcode-to-weather station links are the most appropriate and to advise on alternatives if not. It will also advise on the requirement for any new stations to be included in the scheme.

2.12. Before the start of the 2019-20 CWP season the Met Office advised that the weather station located at Linton-on-Ouse (winter mean temperature 4C) was likely to close. This station is at the centre of a relatively large collection of postcode districts across Yorkshire.

2.13. Linton-on-Ouse station was replaced with two locations, Bramham (4C) to cover those postcodes in the southern part of the region and Leeming (3.9C) to cover those in the north. Mean climatology is very similar at each site, but two sites are recommended to minimise the geographical distance to a reference station for the postcodes affected.

2.14. There were no newly opened stations that were recommended for inclusion in the service at this time.

2.15. CWP statistics are in Annexes 1 and 3.

Winter Fuel Payments

2.16. Winter Fuel Payments help older people to meet heating costs. They are tax free and do not affect entitlement to Social Security benefits.

2.17. In 2019 to 2020 we made Winter Fuel Payments to around 11.4 million older people at an estimated cost of just under £2 billion. Official Statistics on the number of Winter Fuel Payments for 2019 to 2020 were published on 20 September 2020.

2.18. Households with someone who had reached state pension age received £200 and households with someone aged 80 or over received £300.

2.19. Most people who had reached the State Pension age in 2019 to 2020 and who were normally living in Great Britain were eligible and qualified for the Winter Fuel Payment. You don’t receive a payment if during the qualifying week you:

• are in prison
• are in hospital receiving free treatment for more than 52 weeks
• need permission to enter the UK and don’t qualify for help from DWP
• have been living in a care home for the previous twelve weeks or more and receive Pension Credit, income-related Jobseeker’s Allowance or income-related Employment and Support Allowance

2.20. To receive a Winter Fuel Payment, you have to have reached state pension age.

2.21. Winter Fuel Payments during 2019 to 2020 were paid to people residing in the majority of the European Economic Area countries or Switzerland as long as they have a genuine and sufficient link with the UK. The qualifying week for winter 2019 to 2020 payments was the week beginning 16 September 2019.

2.22. Over 95% of payments were made automatically before Christmas 2019 without the need to claim. However, newly eligible people needed to make a claim if they were not receiving a Social Security benefit (or receiving only Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction; Child Benefit; or Universal Credit as a member of a couple) during the qualifying week.

Children’s Funeral Fund for England

2.23. The Children’s Funeral Fund for England^{[footnote 2]} was launched on 23 July 2019. It was based on Social Fund Legislation, but unlike the rest of the Social Fund is administered, governed and accounted for by Ministry of Justice. Between August 2019 and the end of March 2020 there were over 1776 successful applications from a range of burial and cremation authorities, funeral directors and individual applicants across the country.

3. The Discretionary Social Fund

Budgeting Loans

3.1. Budgeting Loans are interest-free loans which are repayable from benefit awards. They are designed to help people, who have been in receipt of a qualifying benefit for at least 6 months, with intermittent expenses that are considered difficult to budget for. The qualifying benefits are: Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, and Pension Credit.

3.2. The Budgeting Loans scheme will remain in place for applicants in receipt of existing income related benefits until they migrate to Universal Credit (at which point they may be eligible for a Budgeting Advance. A Budgeting Advance is not an award from the Social Fund).

3.3. Claimants that migrate from Universal Credit to Pension Credit will once again qualify for a Budgeting Loan.

3.4. In 2019 to 2020, over 1,021,000 awards were made to applicants in the form of Budgeting Loans, worth over £396 million. This has declined since 2018 to 2019 (£462 million), owing to a reduction in the number of applications. An increasing number of claimants are now in receipt of Universal Credit and are not eligible for a Budgeting Loan.

3.5. There is a single, nationally managed loans budget. This budget is controlled and managed at a national level to ensure that all Budgeting Loan applicants in the same circumstances are treated in a similar way with no regional variations. Since April 2013, this budget has been funded solely from recoveries without any additional Annually Managed Expenditure allocations.

3.6. Budgeting Loan statistics are in Annexes 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9.

4. General administration

Reviews

4.1. A regulated Social Fund applicant who is dissatisfied with the initial decision on their application may apply to have the decision reviewed under a mandatory reconsideration within 14 days of the original decision.

4.2. Applicants who remained dissatisfied are able to appeal the decision to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS). The data for 2019 to 2020 is reported in Annex 9.

4.3. A discretionary Social Fund applicant who is dissatisfied with the initial decision on their application may apply to have the decision reviewed under a mandatory reconsideration within 14 days of the original decision. Consideration is given to whether the law (including the Secretary of State’s Directions and Guidance) has been applied correctly, and the case handled fairly and reasonably.

4.4. A reviewing officer within Jobcentre Plus carries out the first review and the outcome is notified to the applicant. In 2019 to 2020, Jobcentre Plus dealt with nearly 600 applications for first review.

4.5. In 2019 to 2020 applicants for Budgeting Loans who remained dissatisfied were able to ask for a further review by the office of the Independent Case Examiner (ICE). In 2019 to 2020 ICE reviewed 8 reviewing officer decisions.

4.6. Budgeting loan refusals have decreased slightly from 13.88% in 2018 to 2019 to 13.2% in 2019 to 2020.

Performance management and improvement

4.7. During 2019 to 2020, a number of internal management tools were used to measure the quality of Social Fund decision making for Sure Start Maternity Grants and Budgeting Loans. The focus of the check has continued to concentrate on complex decision making and on new staff following ongoing reorganisation. This is not strictly comparable year on year.

4.8. The temporary disruption of Funeral Expenses Payment performance in 2019 to 2020 was a result of the necessary relocation of processing. The closure of the previous site resulted in a steady loss of experienced staff prior to closure. Extensive training commitments were required for new staff in the main processing site as well as back up locations, in order to meet high delivery standards.

4.9. Due to the migration and reorganisation of FEP, SSMG and Budgeting Loan processing monitoring was focussed on newly trained staff to ensure accuracy going forward. Targeted monitoring is not directly comparable to previous years’ measurement.

Clearance standards

4.10. Clearance standards for the operational delivery sites for Social Fund, and overall national performance, are monitored against individual clearance standards (see table). The table shows clearance against: Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) standard (column 3).

4.11. The Budgeting Loan and Sure Start Maternity Grant targets remained at the same level that were introduced during the 2017 to 2018 reporting year. Funeral Expenses Payment performance during 2019 to 2020 faced operational challenges due to the migration of claim processing as well as well as the extensive training commitments of new staff. Because of past performance challenges there was a focus on ensuring training was to a high standard to ensure the long term goals of delivering improved performance and accuracy.

Average Actual Clearance Times (AACT) (working days)	(2) AACT Standard	(3) Achieved in 2019 to 2020	(4) % Cleared within AACT Standard
Budgeting Loans	8 days	8.32	52.97
Funeral Expenses Payments	13 days	29.6	-
Sure Start Maternity Grants	10 days	13.28	36.59

Data sourced from DWP Management Information System (MISP) and DWP Social Fund Computer System (SFCS)

MISP and SFCS are Departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tools. In accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice, this type of internal management information does not form part of the official statistics outputs that are released by the Department.

5. Financial management

Background

5.1. Payments from the regulated Social Fund are based on eligibility. Regulations prescribe the circumstances and amounts that are payable.

5.2. National cash-limited budgets are allocated for Budgeting Loans, Funeral Expenses Payments and Sure Start Maternity Grants.

The 2019 to 2020 Discretionary Social Fund budget recoveries

5.3. £477.1 million (£458.7 million from Budgeting Loans, £18.4 million from Crisis Loans) was recovered through the repayment of loans.

The 2019 to 2020 Regulated Social Fund budget recoveries

5.4. £0.2 million of Funeral Expenses Payments was recovered from estates.

6. Summary of financial performance

6.1. In 2019 to 2020 the Social Fund provided payments of just over £456.5 million, with an additional amount, of approximately £2 billion for Winter Fuel Payments paid in Great Britain to around 12 million households.

6.2. Compared to 2018 to 2019 the 2019 to 2020 figures show:

• applications received for Sure Start Maternity Grant have decreased 3.9% from 96,400 in 2017 to 2018 to 90,100 in 2019 to 2020
• the proportion of Sure Start Maternity Grant decisions resulting in an initial award increased slightly in 2019 to 2020 to 56.7% from 50.9% the previous year

6.3. Gross expenditure on Sure Start Maternity Grant for 2019 to 2020 was £25.9 million.

The 2019 to 2020 Budgeting Loans budget

6.4. In April 2019 a single national Budgeting Loans budget of £419.5 million was allocated, composed entirely of loan recoveries. Budgeting Loan payments were able to increase beyond the initial budget due to the availability of increased loan recoveries achieved during the year to finance them.

6.5. Overall loan recoveries during 2019 to 2020 were £477.26 million. Recoveries provided 100% of the funds needed to meet gross expenditure.

Annex 1: National Social Fund Summary Statistics

Regulated Social Fund

	SSMG	CWP	FEP
Applications received (000)	90.1	n/a	37.7
Initial decisions (000)	90.1	n/a	32.2
Awards* (000)	51.0*	10.2	22.0*
Awards as % of initial decisions	56.6	n/a	68
Initial refusals (000)	40.3	n/a	9.9
Gross expenditure £ million	25.9	0.3	34.2
Recoveries £ million	n/a	n/a	0.2
Net expenditure £ million	25.9	0.3	34
Average award* £	508*	25	1,561*

Discretionary Social Fund

	Budgeting Loan	Crisis Loan
Applications received (000)	1,176.10	n/a
Initial decisions (000)	1,177.40	n/a
Awards* (000)	1,021.40	n/a
Awards as % of initial decisions	86.8	n/a
Initial refusals (000)	98.6	n/a
Gross expenditure £ million	396.1	n/a
Recoveries £ million	458.7	18.4
Net expenditure £ million	-62.7	-18.4
Average award* £	386	n/a

FEP devolved to Scotland on 16 September 2019. From this date FEP is only awarded in England and Wales. Therefore, the figures report on Great Britain up to 16 September 2019, and on England and Wales from that date onwards.

SSMG devolved to Scotland on 10 December 2018. Therefore, the SSMG figures are England and Wales only.

SSMG, FEP, BL and CL figures for gross expenditure, recoveries and net expenditure are taken from Social Fund Account 2019 to 2020.

*Due to missing data for 2019 to 2020, the SSMG average award figure has been estimated using a historical average. From this the number of awards has been calculated by dividing gross expenditure by this average award.

*The FEP award figure is an estimate using unaudited internal DWP figures on the number of FEP loans. The average award value is calculated by dividing gross expenditure by this number of awards figure.

Remaining SSMG, FEP and BL data sourced from the DWP Policy, Budget and Management Information System.

CWP figures for gross and net expenditure are taken from Social Fund Account 2019 to 2020.

The figure for CWP awards is derived from the gross expenditure figure. This figure reflects the number of CWPs awards paid during the 2019 to 2020 financial year, rather than the 2019 to 2020 Cold Weather season, which can differ due to the timing of payments.

The CWP eligible caseload is also subject to change over the duration of the Cold Weather season. As a result, this figure is different to previously published estimates of awards for 2019 to 2020.

Notes

1. The average Sure Start Maternity Grant award is higher than the award value of £500 to reflect the additional award made for multiple births.
2. There is no requirement to claim Cold Weather Payments.
3. The Budgeting Loan award figures do not include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal. However, the gross expenditure figure does include such awards.
4. The average Cold Weather Payment award is the amount paid to each qualifying individual every time an award is made. Qualifying individuals may receive more than one payment during each CWP season.
5. For Budgeting Loans, the average award value is calculated by dividing initial expenditure (which excludes the value of awards made on review, reconsideration or appeal) by the number of initial awards. The initial expenditure figure is not shown.
6. Differences between applications received, initial decisions, awards and initial refusals are due to applications being withdrawn; applicants rejecting or not responding to loan offers; and decisions outstanding at the time of the count.
7. The net expenditure for Budgeting Loans is negative as total recoveries have exceeded gross expenditure in 2019 to 2020.
8. The Crisis Loan scheme ended in March 2013; the recoveries shown are in respect of outstanding loans made prior to this date.
9. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Annex 3: Cold Weather Payment Information by Weather Station

Weather station	Parliamentary constituencies covered by each weather station	Number eligible for payment	Triggers	Number eligible for payment in receipt of Pension Credit
Aberporth	Carmarthen East and Dinefwr; Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire; Ceredigion; Preseli Pembrokeshire	4,000	0	2,000
Aboyne	Aberdeen South; Angus; Banff and Buchan; Gordon; Moray; West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	6,000	0	3,000
Achnagart	Ross, Skye and Lochaber	1,000	0	1,000
Albemarle	Berwick-upon-Tweed; Bishop Auckland; Blaydon; Blyth Valley; City of Durham; Easington; Gateshead; Hexham; Houghton and Sunderland South; Jarrow; Newcastle upon Tyne Central; Newcastle upon Tyne East; Newcastle upon Tyne North; North Durham; North Tyneside; North West Durham; Sedgefield; South Shields; Stockton North; Stockton South; Sunderland Central; Tynemouth; Washington and Sunderland West	122,000	0	52,000
Almondsbury	Bristol East; Bristol North West; Bristol South; Bristol West; Filton and Bradley Stoke; Forest of Dean; Kingswood; Monmouth; Newport East; North East Somerset; North Somerset; Stroud; The Cotswolds; Thornbury and Yate; Wells; Weston-Super-Mare	52,000	0	19,000
Andrewsfield	Basildon and Billericay; Braintree; Brentwood and Ongar; Cambridge; Chelmsford; Epping Forest; Harlow; Hertford and Stortford; Hornchurch and Upminster; Maldon; North East Bedfordshire; North East Hertfordshire; Romford; Saffron Walden; South Basildon and East Thurrock; South Cambridgeshire; South East Cambridgeshire; Witham	38,000	0	16,000
Auchincruive	Argyll and Bute; Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock; Central Ayrshire; Dumfries and Galloway; Kilmarnock and Loudoun; North Ayrshire and Arran	32,000	0	13,000
Aultbea	Ross, Skye and Lochaber	< 500	0	< 500
Aviemore	Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey; Moray	1,000	1	< 500
Bainbridge	Bishop Auckland; North West Durham; Pendle; Penrith and The Border; Ribble Valley; Richmond (Yorks); Skipton and Ripon	3,000	0	2,000
Bedford	Banbury; Bedford; Buckingham; Corby; Daventry; Harborough; Hitchin and Harpenden; Huntingdon; Kenilworth and Southam; Kettering; Mid Bedfordshire; Milton Keynes North; Milton Keynes South; North East Bedfordshire; North East Hertfordshire; Northampton North; Northampton South; South Cambridgeshire; South Northamptonshire; Stevenage; Wellingborough	59,000	0	24,000
Bingley	Batley and Spen; Bradford East; Bradford South; Bradford West; Burnley; Calder Valley; Colne Valley; Dewsbury; Halifax; Huddersfield; Hyndburn; Keighley; Leeds North East; Leeds North West; Morley and Outwood; Pendle; Penistone and Stocksbridge; Pudsey; Ribble Valley; Rochdale; Rossendale and Darwen; Shipley; Skipton and Ripon	74,000	0	29,000
Bishopton	Airdrie and Shotts; Argyll and Bute; Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East; East Dunbartonshire; East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow; East Renfrewshire; Glasgow Central; Glasgow East; Glasgow North; Glasgow North East; Glasgow North West; Glasgow South; Glasgow South West; Inverclyde; Kilmarnock and Loudoun; Lanark and Hamilton East; Motherwell and Wishaw; North Ayrshire and Arran; Paisley and Renfrewshire North; Paisley and Renfrewshire South; Rutherglen and Hamilton West; Stirling; West Dunbartonshire	130,000	0	48,000
Boscombe Down	Basingstoke; Devizes; Eastleigh; Meon Valley; New Forest East; New Forest West; North Dorset; North West Hampshire; Romsey and Southampton North; Salisbury; South West Wiltshire; Winchester	12,000	0	5,000
Braemar	Angus; Perth and North Perthshire; West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	1,000	3	< 500
Bramham	Beverley and Holderness; Bradford East; East Yorkshire; Elmet and Rothwell; Haltemprice and Howden; Harrogate and Knaresborough; Leeds Central; Leeds East; Leeds North East; Leeds North West; Leeds West; Morley and Outwood; Pudsey; Richmond (Yorks); Selby and Ainsty; Shipley; Skipton and Ripon; Thirsk and Malton; York Central; York Outer	61,000	0	24,000
Brize Norton	Banbury; Buckingham; Henley; Newbury; Oxford East; Oxford West and Abingdon; South Northamptonshire; The Cotswolds; Wantage; Witney	16,000	0	6,000
Capel Curig	Aberconwy; Clwyd West; Dwyfor Meirionnydd	1,000	0	< 500
Cardinham (Bodmin)	North Cornwall; South East Cornwall; St Austell and Newquay; Torridge and West Devon	13,000	0	6,000
Carlisle	Carlisle; Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale; Hexham; Penrith and The Border; Workington	9,000	0	4,000
Cassley	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	< 500	0	< 500
Charlwood	Arundel and South Downs; Ashford; Bexhill and Battle; Chatham and Aylesford; Chichester; Crawley; Dartford; East Surrey; Faversham and Mid Kent; Gravesham; Guildford; Horsham; Lewes; Maidstone and The Weald; Mid Sussex; Mole Valley; Orpington; Reigate; Sevenoaks; South West Surrey; Tonbridge and Malling; Tunbridge Wells; Wealden	42,000	0	17,000
Charterhall	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk; Berwick-upon-Tweed; Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale; East Lothian	5,000	0	2,000
Chivenor	North Cornwall; North Devon; Torridge and West Devon	8,000	0	4,000
Coleshill	Aldridge-Brownhills; Birmingham, Edgbaston; Birmingham, Erdington; Birmingham, Hall Green; Birmingham, Hodge Hill; Birmingham, Ladywood; Birmingham, Northfield; Birmingham, Perry Barr; Birmingham, Selly Oak; Birmingham, Yardley; Bosworth; Bromsgrove; Cannock Chase; Coventry North East; Coventry North West; Coventry South; Daventry; Dudley North; Dudley South; Halesowen and Rowley Regis; Kenilworth and Southam; Lichfield; Ludlow; Meriden; Mid Worcestershire; North Warwickshire; North West Leicestershire; Nuneaton; Redditch; Rugby; Solihull; South Leicestershire; South Staffordshire; Stafford; Stourbridge; Stratford-on-Avon; Sutton Coldfield; Tamworth; The Wrekin; Walsall North; Walsall South; Warley; Warwick and Leamington; West Bromwich East; West Bromwich West; West Worcestershire; Wolverhampton North East; Wolverhampton South East; Wolverhampton South West; Wyre Forest	264,000	0	111,000
Crosby	Birkenhead; Blackpool North and Cleveleys; Blackpool South; Bootle; Chorley; City of Chester; Ellesmere Port and Neston; Fylde; Garston and Halewood; Halton; Knowsley; Lancaster and Fleetwood; Liverpool, Riverside; Liverpool, Walton; Liverpool, Wavertree; Liverpool, West Derby; Preston; Ribble Valley; Sefton Central; South Ribble; Southport; St Helens North; St Helens South and Whiston; Wallasey; West Lancashire; Wirral South; Wirral West; Wyre and Preston North	167,000	0	65,000
Culdrose	Camborne and Redruth; North Cornwall; St Austell and Newquay; St Ives; Truro and Falmouth	20,000	0	10,000
Dunkeswell Aerodrome	Central Devon; East Devon; Taunton Deane; Tiverton and Honiton; West Dorset; Yeovil	5,000	0	3,000
Dunstaffnage	Argyll and Bute; Ross, Skye and Lochaber	1,000	0	1,000
Dyce	Aberdeen North; Aberdeen South; Banff and Buchan; Gordon; West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	16,000	0	5,000
Edinburgh Gogarbank	Airdrie and Shotts; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East; Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale; Dunfermline and West Fife; East Lothian; Edinburgh East; Edinburgh North and Leith; Edinburgh South; Edinburgh South West; Edinburgh West; Falkirk; Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath; Lanark and Hamilton East; Linlithgow and East Falkirk; Livingston; Midlothian; Ochil and South Perthshire; Stirling	68,000	0	24,000
Eskdalemuir	Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk; Dumfries and Galloway; Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale; Penrith and The Border	4,000	0	2,000
Exeter Airport	Central Devon; East Devon; Exeter; Newton Abbot; Tiverton and Honiton; Torbay; Totnes	31,000	0	14,000
Fylingdales	Richmond (Yorks); Scarborough and Whitby; Thirsk and Malton	3,000	0	2,000
Hawarden Airport	Alyn and Deeside; City of Chester; Clwyd South; Clwyd West; Delyn; Eddisbury; Ellesmere Port and Neston; North Shropshire; Vale of Clwyd; Wrexham	23,000	0	10,000
Heathrow	Barking; Battersea; Beaconsfield; Beckenham; Bermondsey and Old Southwark; Bethnal Green and Bow; Brent Central; Brent North; Brentford and Isleworth; Brentwood and Ongar; Bromley and Chislehurst; Broxbourne; Camberwell and Peckham; Carshalton and Wallington; Chelsea and Fulham; Chingford and Woodford Green; Chipping Barnet; Cities of London and Westminster; Croydon Central; Croydon North; Croydon South; Dulwich and West Norwood; Ealing Central and Acton; Ealing North; Ealing, Southall; East Ham; East Surrey; Edmonton; Eltham; Enfield North; Enfield, Southgate; Epping Forest; Epsom and Ewell; Erith and Thamesmead; Esher and Walton; Feltham and Heston; Finchley and Golders Green; Greenwich and Woolwich; Hackney North and Stoke Newington; Hackney South and Shoreditch; Hammersmith; Hampstead and Kilburn; Harlow; Harrow East; Harrow West; Hayes and Harlington; Hendon; Hertford and Stortford; Hertsmere; Holborn and St Pancras; Hornsey and Wood Green; Ilford North; Ilford South; Islington North; Islington South and Finsbury; Kensington; Kingston and Surbiton; Lewisham East; Lewisham West and Penge; Lewisham, Deptford; Leyton and Wanstead; Mitcham and Morden; Mole Valley; Old Bexley and Sidcup; Orpington; Poplar and Limehouse; Putney; Reigate; Richmond Park; Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner; Runnymede and Weybridge; Slough; South West Hertfordshire; Spelthorne; St Albans; Streatham; Sutton and Cheam; Tooting; Tottenham; Twickenham; Uxbridge and South Ruislip; Vauxhall; Walthamstow; Watford; West Ham; Westminster North; Wimbledon; Windsor; Woking	462,000	0	192,000
Hereford-Credenhill	Brecon and Radnorshire; Cheltenham; Forest of Dean; Gloucester; Hereford and South Herefordshire; Ludlow; Mid Worcestershire; Monmouth; North Herefordshire; Redditch; Stratford-on-Avon; Stroud; Tewkesbury; The Cotswolds; West Worcestershire; Worcester; Wyre Forest	48,000	0	21,000
Herstmonceux West End	Bexhill and Battle; Brighton, Kemptown; Eastbourne; Folkestone and Hythe; Hastings and Rye; Lewes; Mid Sussex; Wealden	25,000	0	11,000
High Wycombe	Aylesbury; Banbury; Beaconsfield; Buckingham; Chesham and Amersham; Henley; Maidenhead; South West Hertfordshire; Wycombe	15,000	0	6,000
Hurn	Bournemouth East; Bournemouth West; Christchurch; Mid Dorset and North Poole; New Forest East; New Forest West; North Dorset; Poole; Salisbury; South Dorset; West Dorset	32,000	0	16,000
Isle of Portland	South Dorset; West Dorset	5,000	0	2,000
Keele	Burton; Congleton; Crewe and Nantwich; Derbyshire Dales; Eddisbury; Lichfield; Macclesfield; Newcastle-under-Lyme; North Shropshire; South Staffordshire; Stafford; Staffordshire Moorlands; Stoke-on-Trent Central; Stoke-on-Trent North; Stoke-on-Trent South; Stone; The Wrekin	42,000	0	17,000
Kinloss	Banff and Buchan; Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey; Moray; Ross, Skye and Lochaber	12,000	0	5,000
Kirkwall	Orkney and Shetland	1,000	0	< 500
Lake Vyrnwy	Clwyd South; Clwyd West; Dwyfor Meirionnydd; Ludlow; Montgomeryshire; North Shropshire; Shrewsbury and Atcham	5,000	0	2,000
Langdon Bay	Ashford; Canterbury; Dover; Faversham and Mid Kent; Folkestone and Hythe; North Thanet; South Thanet	45,000	0	20,000
Leconfield	Beverley and Holderness; Brigg and Goole; Doncaster North; East Yorkshire; Haltemprice and Howden; Kingston upon Hull East; Kingston upon Hull North; Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle; Scarborough and Whitby; Selby and Ainsty; Thirsk and Malton	47,000	0	20,000
Leek	Burton; Derbyshire Dales; Hazel Grove; High Peak; Macclesfield; North East Derbyshire; Staffordshire Moorlands; Stalybridge and Hyde; Stoke-on-Trent Central; Stoke-on-Trent North; Stone	10,000	0	4,000
Leeming	Bishop Auckland; Darlington; Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland; Richmond (Yorks); Sedgefield; Skipton and Ripon; Stockton North; Stockton South; Thirsk and Malton	11,000	0	5,000
Lerwick	Orkney and Shetland	1,000	0	< 500
Leuchars	Angus; Dundee East; Dundee West; Glenrothes; Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath; North East Fife; Ochil and South Perthshire; Perth and North Perthshire; West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	30,000	0	11,000
Liscombe	Bridgwater and West Somerset; Central Devon; North Devon; Tiverton and Honiton	4,000	0	2,000
Little Rissington	Banbury; Cheltenham; Kenilworth and Southam; Mid Worcestershire; South Northamptonshire; Stratford-on-Avon; Tewkesbury; The Cotswolds; West Worcestershire; Witney	6,000	0	3,000
Llysdinam	Brecon and Radnorshire; Carmarthen East and Dinefwr; Ludlow; Montgomeryshire; North Herefordshire	4,000	0	2,000
Loch Glascarnoch	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey; Ross, Skye and Lochaber	1,000	2	< 500
Loftus	Easington; Hartlepool; Middlesbrough; Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland; Redcar; Richmond (Yorks); Scarborough and Whitby; Sedgefield; Stockton North; Stockton South	50,000	0	19,000
Machrihanish	Argyll and Bute; North Ayrshire and Arran	1,000	0	1,000
Marham	Boston and Skegness; Broadland; Bury St Edmunds; Mid Norfolk; North East Cambridgeshire; North West Norfolk; South East Cambridgeshire; South Holland and The Deepings; South West Norfolk; West Suffolk	22,000	0	10,000
Mona	Aberconwy; Arfon; Dwyfor Meirionnydd; Ynys Mon	12,000	0	6,000
Morpeth, Cockle Park	Berwick-upon-Tweed; Blyth Valley; Hexham; Wansbeck	12,000	0	5,000
North Wyke	Central Devon; Newton Abbot; North Cornwall; North Devon; South West Devon; Torridge and West Devon; Totnes	7,000	0	4,000
Nottingham Watnall	Amber Valley; Ashfield; Bassetlaw; Bolsover; Bosworth; Broxtowe; Burton; Charnwood; Corby; Daventry; Derby North; Derby South; Derbyshire Dales; Erewash; Gedling; Grantham and Stamford; Harborough; Kettering; Leicester East; Leicester South; Leicester West; Lichfield; Loughborough; Mansfield; Mid Derbyshire; Newark; North East Derbyshire; North West Leicestershire; Nottingham East; Nottingham North; Nottingham South; Nuneaton; Rugby; Rushcliffe; Rutland and Melton; Sherwood; Sleaford and North Hykeham; South Derbyshire; South Leicestershire; Staffordshire Moorlands	158,000	0	62,000
Pembrey Sands	Aberavon; Carmarthen East and Dinefwr; Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire; Gower; Llanelli; Neath; Preseli Pembrokeshire; Swansea East; Swansea West	40,000	0	16,000
Plymouth	Plymouth, Moor View; Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport; South East Cornwall; South West Devon; Torridge and West Devon; Totnes	21,000	0	8,000
Redesdale	Berwick-upon-Tweed; Hexham; North West Durham; Penrith and The Border	4,000	0	2,000
Rhyl	Aberconwy; Clwyd West; Delyn; Vale of Clwyd	15,000	0	7,000
Rochdale	Ashton-under-Lyne; Blackley and Broughton; Bolton North East; Bolton South East; Bolton West; Bury North; Bury South; Calder Valley; Chorley; Denton and Reddish; Heywood and Middleton; Oldham East and Saddleworth; Oldham West and Royton; Rochdale; Rossendale and Darwen; Stalybridge and Hyde	69,000	0	26,000
Rostherne	Altrincham and Sale West; Ashton-under-Lyne; Blackley and Broughton; Bolton South East; Bolton West; Bury South; Cheadle; Chorley; Congleton; Crewe and Nantwich; Denton and Reddish; Eddisbury; Ellesmere Port and Neston; Garston and Halewood; Halton; Hazel Grove; High Peak; Knowsley; Leigh; Macclesfield; Makerfield; Manchester Central; Manchester, Gorton; Manchester, Withington; Oldham West and Royton; Salford and Eccles; South Ribble; St Helens North; St Helens South and Whiston; Staffordshire Moorlands; Stalybridge and Hyde; Stockport; Stretford and Urmston; Tatton; Warrington North; Warrington South; Weaver Vale; West Lancashire; Wigan; Worsley and Eccles South; Wythenshawe and Sale East	182,000	0	70,000
Rothamsted	Broxbourne; Buckingham; Chesham and Amersham; Chipping Barnet; Enfield North; Harrow East; Hemel Hempstead; Hertford and Stortford; Hertsmere; Hitchin and Harpenden; Luton North; Luton South; Mid Bedfordshire; North East Hertfordshire; Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner; South West Bedfordshire; South West Hertfordshire; St Albans; Stevenage; Watford; Welwyn Hatfield	50,000	0	20,000
St. Athan	Aberavon; Brecon and Radnorshire; Bridgend; Caerphilly; Cardiff Central; Cardiff North; Cardiff South and Penarth; Cardiff West; Cynon Valley; Islwyn; Monmouth; Neath; Newport East; Newport West; Ogmore; Pontypridd; Vale of Glamorgan	66,000	0	24,000
St. Bees Head	Copeland; Workington	7,000	0	3,000
Salsburgh	Airdrie and Shotts; Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk; Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East; Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale; East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow; Falkirk; Lanark and Hamilton East; Linlithgow and East Falkirk; Livingston; Midlothian; Motherwell and Wishaw; Rutherglen and Hamilton West	30,000	0	12,000
Scilly St. Marys	St Ives	< 100	0	< 100
Shap	Copeland; Penrith and The Border; Richmond (Yorks); Westmorland and Lonsdale; Workington	4,000	0	2,000
Shawbury	Clwyd South; Eddisbury; Ludlow; Montgomeryshire; North Shropshire; Shrewsbury and Atcham; Stafford; Stone; Telford; The Wrekin	23,000	0	10,000
Sheffield	Barnsley Central; Barnsley East; Bassetlaw; Batley and Spen; Bolsover; Brigg and Goole; Calder Valley; Chesterfield; Colne Valley; Derbyshire Dales; Dewsbury; Don Valley; Doncaster Central; Doncaster North; Elmet and Rothwell; Halifax; Hemsworth; Huddersfield; Morley and Outwood; Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford; North East Derbyshire; Penistone and Stocksbridge; Rother Valley; Rotherham; Selby and Ainsty; Sheffield Central; Sheffield South East; Sheffield, Brightside and Hillsborough; Sheffield, Hallam; Sheffield, Heeley; Wakefield; Wentworth and Dearne	159,000	0	61,000
Shoeburyness	Ashford; Barking; Basildon and Billericay; Beckenham; Bexleyheath and Crayford; Brentwood and Ongar; Bromley and Chislehurst; Canterbury; Castle Point; Chatham and Aylesford; Dagenham and Rainham; Dartford; Eltham; Erith and Thamesmead; Faversham and Mid Kent; Gillingham and Rainham; Gravesham; Hornchurch and Upminster; Ilford North; Ilford South; Maldon; North Thanet; Old Bexley and Sidcup; Orpington; Rayleigh and Wickford; Rochester and Strood; Rochford and Southend East; Romford; Sevenoaks; Sittingbourne and Sheppey; South Basildon and East Thurrock; Southend West; Thurrock	100,000	0	40,000
South Farnborough	Aldershot; Arundel and South Downs; Basingstoke; Beaconsfield; Bracknell; Chichester; East Hampshire; Guildford; Henley; Maidenhead; Meon Valley; Mole Valley; Newbury; North East Hampshire; North West Hampshire; Reading East; Reading West; Runnymede and Weybridge; Slough; South West Surrey; Surrey Heath; Wantage; Winchester; Windsor; Woking; Wokingham	57,000	0	25,000
Stonyhurst	Blackburn; Chorley; Hyndburn; Lancaster and Fleetwood; Morecambe and Lunesdale; Pendle; Ribble Valley; Rossendale and Darwen; Skipton and Ripon; Westmorland and Lonsdale	22,000	0	9,000
Stornoway	Na h-Eileanan an Iar	2,000	0	1,000
Strathallan	Angus; Argyll and Bute; Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East; Dunfermline and West Fife; Glenrothes; Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath; North East Fife; Ochil and South Perthshire; Perth and North Perthshire; Stirling; West Dunbartonshire	12,000	0	5,000
Thorney Island	Arundel and South Downs; Bognor Regis and Littlehampton; Brighton, Kemptown; Brighton, Pavilion; Chichester; East Hampshire; East Worthing and Shoreham; Eastleigh; Fareham; Gosport; Havant; Hove; Isle of Wight; Lewes; Meon Valley; New Forest East; New Forest West; Portsmouth North; Portsmouth South; Romsey and Southampton North; Salisbury; Southampton, Itchen; Southampton, Test; Winchester; Worthing West	105,000	0	44,000
Threave	Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock; Dumfries and Galloway; Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale	6,000	0	3,000
Tibenham	Broadland; Great Yarmouth; Mid Norfolk; North Norfolk; North West Norfolk; Norwich North; Norwich South; South Norfolk; South West Norfolk; Suffolk Coastal; Waveney	44,000	0	19,000
Tiree	Argyll and Bute; Ross, Skye and Lochaber	< 100	0	< 100
Trawsgoed	Brecon and Radnorshire; Ceredigion; Dwyfor Meirionnydd; Montgomeryshire	3,000	0	1,000
Tredegar	Blaenau Gwent; Brecon and Radnorshire; Caerphilly; Cardiff North; Carmarthen East and Dinefwr; Cynon Valley; Islwyn; Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney; Monmouth; Neath; Ogmore; Pontypridd; Rhondda; Torfaen	57,000	0	21,000
Tulloch Bridge	Argyll and Bute; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey; Perth and North Perthshire; Ross, Skye and Lochaber; Stirling	1,000	1	1,000
Waddington	Bassetlaw; Boston and Skegness; Brigg and Goole; Cleethorpes; Don Valley; Gainsborough; Grantham and Stamford; Great Grimsby; Lincoln; Louth and Horncastle; Newark; Scunthorpe; Sleaford and North Hykeham; South Holland and The Deepings	60,000	0	27,000
Walney Island	Barrow and Furness; Copeland; Lancaster and Fleetwood; Morecambe and Lunesdale; Westmorland and Lonsdale	14,000	0	6,000
Wattisham	Braintree; Bury St Edmunds; Central Suffolk and North Ipswich; Clacton; Colchester; Harwich and North Essex; Ipswich; South East Cambridgeshire; South Norfolk; South Suffolk; South West Norfolk; Suffolk Coastal; Waveney; West Suffolk; Witham	48,000	0	22,000
Westonbirt	Bath; Chippenham; Devizes; Kingswood; Newbury; North East Somerset; North Swindon; North Wiltshire; Salisbury; Somerton and Frome; South Swindon; South West Wiltshire; Stroud; The Cotswolds; Thornbury and Yate; Wantage; Wells; Witney	32,000	0	14,000
Wick	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross	2,000	0	1,000
Wittering	Corby; Grantham and Stamford; Huntingdon; Kettering; North East Bedfordshire; North East Cambridgeshire; North West Cambridgeshire; Peterborough; Rutland and Melton; South Cambridgeshire; South East Cambridgeshire; South Holland and The Deepings	26,000	0	11,000
Yeovilton	Bridgwater and West Somerset; North Dorset; Somerton and Frome; Taunton Deane; Tiverton and Honiton; Wells; West Dorset; Weston-Super-Mare; Yeovil	24,000	0	11,000
Great Britain	-	3,646,000	7	1,490,000

Notes

1. Cold Weather Payments are paid automatically – eligible recipients do not make a claim to receive payment.
2. A Cold Weather Payment is made to an eligible customer when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecasted to be, 0°C or below over 7 consecutive days at the weather station linked to the customer’s postcode (when the temperature criterion is met, the weather station is said to trigger).
3. Cold Weather Payments are made to benefit units. A benefit unit can be a single person or a couple and can include children.
4. Cold Weather Payment figures are taken from Departmental records.
5. The number of eligible benefit units linked to each weather station is an estimate.
6. The number of eligible benefit units are rounded to the nearest 100.
7. The weather stations are mapped to Parliamentary Constituency by postcode.
8. Most weather stations will cover areas in more than one Parliamentary Constituency.
9. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Annex 4: Budgeting Loans by Jobcentre Plus Social Fund Budget Area

Region of Jobcentre Plus Social Fund budget area	Applications Received	Awards	Gross Expenditure, £ million
East of England	77,900	67,000	27
East Midlands	82,400	71,200	28
London	104,400	89,600	37
North East	84,600	74,100	28
North West	182,100	157,700	59
Scotland	134,500	119,000	45
South East	100,700	87,800	36
South West	65,300	56,800	23
Wales	84,900	74,200	29
West Midlands	120,500	104,800	40
Yorkshire and Humberside	139,000	119,100	45

Notes

1. Summing expenditure will give a different total figure to that in Annex 1 as data is obtained from the Policy Budget and Management Information System rather than the Social Fund Account 2019 to 2020.
2. The award figures do not include awards made after review, reconsideration or appeal. However, the gross expenditure figure does include such awards.
3. Applications and awards are rounded to the nearest 100; expenditure is rounded to the nearest £100,000.
4. Figures may not sum to the national totals shown elsewhere due to rounding.

Annex 5: Budgeting Loans – Expenditure by Claimant Group

Claimant Group	Expenditure (£ million)	% of Total Awards
Pensioners	20.8	5.2
Unemployed	83.3	21
Disabled	150.2	37.9
Lone Parents	118.4	29.9
Others	23.4	5.9
Total	396.1	100

Notes

1. Total expenditure figure differs from Annex 1 as data is obtained from the Policy Budget and Management Information System rather than the Social Fund Account 2019 to 2020.
2. Claimant group definitions are given in Annex 10.
3. Expenditure includes awards made on review, reconsideration or appeal.
4. Expenditure figures are rounded to the nearest £100,000; percentages to the nearest 0.1%.
5. Figures may not sum due to rounding.

Annex 7: Budgeting Loans – Reasons for initial refusal by Applicant Group

Counts

	Pensioners	Disabled	Lone Parents	Unemployed	Others	Total
Outstanding debt	1,500	25,500	9,200	15,200	3,500	55,100
Not in receipt of a qualifying benefit	300	16,900	1,200	8,100	9,900	36,500
Not in receipt of a qualifying benefit for 26 weeks	200	1,600	1,200	3,000	500	6,500
Other	100	200	~	200	~	600
Total	2,100	44,200	11,600	26,500	13,900	98,300

Percentages

	Pensioners	Disabled	Lone Parents	Unemployed	Others	Total
Outstanding debt	71.6	57.7	79.5	57.3	25.1	55.9
Not in receipt of a qualifying benefit	14.5	38.3	10.0	30.7	70.9	37.0
Not in receipt of a qualifying benefit for 26 weeks	8.5	3.6	10.2	11.2	3.7	6.6
Other	5.4	~	~	0.8	~	0.6
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100

Notes

1. Claimant group definitions are given in Annex 10.
2. The qualifying benefits are Income Support, income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Pension Credit.
3. The number of refusals are rounded to the nearest 100; percentages to the nearest 0.1%.
4. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
5. ~ represents less than 50 or percentages less than 0.5%.

Annex 8: Summary of Budgeting Loan Review Applications – Data

First Reviews	Budgeting Loans
Number of applications for first review	600
Number of decisions revised at first review	100
Percentage of applications revised at first review	19.4

Notes

1. The numbers of applications and decisions are rounded to the nearest 100; the percentage to the nearest 0.1%.
2. Percentage revised is based on unrounded figures.

Annex 9: Social Fund Appeals Data (Supplied by HMCTS)

Social Fund Appeals Dealt with at the First Tier Tribunal April 2019 to March 2020

	Number of Receipts	Number of Disposals	Number Decided without a Hearing	Number Heard and Decided at Hearing	Number Decided in Appellant’s Favour	Percentage Decided in Appellant’s Favour
Social Fund (Funeral Payments)	97	134	21	113	31	27%
Social Fund (Maternity)	44	53	4	49	6	12%
Total	141	187	25	162	37	23%

Notes

Percentage found in favour at hearing is based on the number heard and decided at hearing.

Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and is the best data that is available.

The data is a subset of official statistics and may differ slightly to that of the HMCTS published stats as this data was run on a different date.

FEP devolved to Scotland on 16 September 2019. From this date FEP is only awarded in England and Wales. Therefore, the figures report on Great Britain up to 16 September 2019, and on England and Wales from that date onwards.

SSMG devolved to Scotland on 10 December 2018. Therefore, the SSMG figures are England and Wales only.

Annex 10: Client Groups

Social Fund payments are wide-ranging from payments to help with intermittent unexpected expenses (mainly to those in receipt of qualifying benefits), to payments aimed at certain groups to help with particular events. The fund does not therefore fall exclusively into any one of the Departmental client groups of Children, Working Age and Older People, although Social Fund payments are either paid to, or benefit, all of these groups. Some statistics in this report are shown by applicant or claimant groups that fall into one or more of the wider client groups.

Applicant or Claimant Group definitions

Pensioners

Includes:

• applicant or partner at minimum state pension age or over with Pension Credit
• applicant or partner at minimum state pension age or over in receipt of state retirement pension

Includes also where applicant is under minimum state pension age and partner is:

• minimum state pension age or over with Income Support (IS) pensioner premium
• 80 or over with IS higher pensioner premium
• minimum state pension age to 79, disabled with IS higher pensioner premium

Unemployed

Includes:

• unemployed or with training allowance

Disabled

Includes:

• in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance
• applicant or partner aged under minimum state pension age with IS disability premium
• lone parent with IS disability premium
• family with IS disability premium
• others with IS disability premium
• in receipt of other benefit for incapacity or disablement

Lone parent

Includes:

• person who has no partner and is receiving Income Support because they are responsible for a child

1. There is also a statutory requirement to produce a Social Fund White Paper account. Current arrangements are that this is laid in Parliament separately. The figures in this report do not include accounting adjustments. ↩

2. Ministry of Justice incurred expenditure of £1,015,332.90 on the Children’s Funeral Fund in 2019 to 2020. As expenditure is accounted for in another department, HMT has directed that the Children’s Funeral Fund is not included in the Social Fund Account produced by DWP. ↩