The discretionary Social Fund is made up of grants and some repayable "crisis loans". It is given to local authorities to disburse in their area to families and individuals most in need.
But in an open ministerial letter and a call for evidence from the Department for Work and Pensions, it is proposed that the crisis loans and grants offered through the Social Fund be scrapped and replaced with locally-based provision, funded by central government.
The call for evidence states: "We firmly believe that the abolition of the discretionary elements of the Social Fund and their replacement with a combination of modernised national service and new locally-based and designed discretionary provision will deliver a more responsive, better targeted and relevant service.
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